Young aspen trees in Yellowstone are doing something they have not done in almost 100 years. Rather than sprouting and being eaten back to nubs by elk and bison, they're actually growing into tall, adult forest trees rising up towards the canopy.



This matters more than it might seem, because it shows what happens when a missing piece of an ecosystem returns.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-yellowstone-aspens-and-elk">Yellowstone, aspens, and elk</h2>



In the 1920s, people <a href="https://www.yellowstone.org/wolf-project/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">eliminated wolves in Yellowstone</a>. At the time, with limited scientific knowledge, managers believed it was the right thing to do.



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/from-wolves-to-dogs-did-domestication-begin-without-human-help/">Without wolves</a>, elk herds grew very large. Elk love to eat aspen shoots - the tender young growth is highly palatable to them.



For roughly 70 years, elk browsed aspen sprouts down to stub height, and the trees couldn't grow. 



If you had walked through Yellowstone in the 1980s, you would have seen many tiny aspen shoots covering the ground, but almost no young trees gaining height. 



The forest's regeneration was stalled. Old trees died, and no new ones replaced them.



In 1995 and 1996, park managers reintroduced wolves into the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/yellowstone-supervolcano-eruption-study-sparks-new-debate-on-where-and-when-it-will-erupt/">Yellowstone Park ecosystem</a>. Scientists hoped and wondered whether this would change anything for the trees.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-aspen-matter-to-yellowstone">Why aspen matter to Yellowstone</h2>



Aspen groves provide habitat for many species. Birds nest in them. Beavers eat the bark and use the wood for dams. Butterflies and moths lay eggs on the leaves. 



Their canopy admits enough light for wildflowers and shrubs to grow beneath. When it rains, aspen groves hold water in the soil better than some other forest types.



In short, when aspen return, dozens of other species benefit. More trees support more insects, which in turn support more birds, enriching the ecosystem.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-checking-the-trees-three-decades-later">Checking the trees three decades later</h2>



<a href="https://fwcs.oregonstate.edu/users/luke-painter" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Luke Painter</a>, an ecologist at <a href="https://oregonstate.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Oregon State University</a>, sought clear answers. His team returned to 87 aspen stands across Yellowstone that scientists had previously surveyed. 



They measured thousands of young trees, looked for bite marks, and counted how many stems were tall enough that elk could no longer reach the tips.



About a third of these stands now have many tall young aspens pushing toward the canopy. 



"About 26 of the 87 aspen stands we examined had large numbers of tall saplings throughout, a remarkable change from the 1990s when surveys found none at all," Painter said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-wolves-matter-to-yellowstone-aspens">Why wolves matter to Yellowstone aspens</h2>



Breaking it all down, the conclusions of this study are pretty simple. 



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/wolves-move-pups-across-mountains-to-adapt-to-climate-pressure/">Wolves hunt elk</a>. When wolves came back, two things happened. First, elk numbers declined from unusually high levels. Second, elk changed their behavior. They spent less time in the same areas feeding.



With fewer elk and shorter feeding bouts, more aspen shoots survived long enough to exceed the browsing zone - about six to seven feet high. 



Once a sapling reaches that height, elk cannot easily reach the growing tip. The tree continues to grow.



"The reintroduction of large carnivores has initiated a recovery process that had been shut down for decades," Painter explained.



Scientists call this a <a href="https://www.nature.com/scitable/knowledge/library/trophic-cascades-across-diverse-plant-ecosystems-80060347/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">trophic cascade</a> - when adding or removing one species causes changes that ripple through the whole system.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-some-places-recover-others-don-t">Some places recover, others don't</h2>



Unfortunately, not every aspen stand has recovered yet. Some valleys still have many short, heavily browsed shoots, because it's not only elk eating them anymore. 



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/yellowstones-iconic-bison-have-merged-into-a-single-herd/">Bison herds have grown</a>, and bison browse on aspen as well. They are strong enough to break young trees. 



"Increasing numbers of bison may be emerging as a new constraint to aspen in some areas," Painter confirmed.



Additionally, winter snow depth varies; droughts stress trees; bears and mountain lions also hunt elk; and hunting outside the park influences elk distribution. 



All of these factors interact, which is why some sites show strong recovery, others show moderate recovery, and a few have changed very little.



The key pattern is that places with many tall saplings experience little browsing, and aspen groves that remain popular eating grounds today stay short. 



This fact is the strongest indication that tree recovery is linked directly to wolf presence, not solely to weather or soil conditions.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-proof-in-the-measurements">Proof in the measurements</h2>



Painter's team did not rely on casual observation. They used the same methods as earlier researchers, measuring the same plots. 



They counted recruitment - when young trees surpass browsing height and begin progressing toward maturity. This measure is crucial. Sprouts are insufficient if they never grow; without recruitment, the forest cannot replace itself.



The results are robust. After being stalled for most of a century, Yellowstone's aspens are increasing in height. In recovering stands today, you will see saplings - six, eight, or ten feet tall - that were not present in the 1990s.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-future-of-yellowstone-s-aspens">The future of Yellowstone's aspens</h2>



"This is a remarkable case of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/giant-viruses-found-in-yellowstones-hot-springs-may-be-near-the-root-of-all-life-on-earth/">ecological restoration</a>," Painter concluded. "Wolf reintroduction is yielding long-term ecological changes contributing to increased biodiversity and habitat diversity."



Trees grow slowly, so even with wolves restored, it will take decades for these young aspens to form a full-grown forest. 



Some areas might never fully recover if bison numbers continue to rise or if the climate becomes too hot and dry.



Thanks to the work of Painter and his team, scientists are now certain that restoring the Yellowstone predator has restarted aspen forest regeneration. Not everywhere and not perfectly, but enough to be measured, creating hope for the future.



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378112725004499?via%3Dihub" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Forest Ecology and Management</a>.



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Yellowstone's aspen trees are growing again thanks to the reintroduction of wolves

Young aspen trees in Yellowstone are doing something they have not done in almost 100 years. Rather than sprouting and being eaten back to nubs by elk and bison, they're actually growing into tall, adult forest trees rising up towards the canopy. This matters more than it might seem, because it shows what happens when a missing piece of an ecosystem returns. Yellowstone, aspens, and elk In the 1920s, people eliminated wolves in Yellowstone. At the time, with limited scientific knowledge, managers believed it was the right...

Our noses do a quiet job. Every day they flag danger, color our meals, and tie memories to places. A research team in Seoul now reports a straightforward method to temporarily dial up the sense of smell.



The study was led by Yongwoo Jang of <a href="https://www.hanyang.ac.kr/web/eng" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Hanyang University</a> with collaborators in South Korea.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-radio-waves-on-the-smell-nerve">Radio waves on the smell nerve</h2>



The group focused on the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-your-brain-decides-what-smells-good-or-bad/">olfactory</a> nerve - the cable that carries odor signals from the top of the nasal cavity into the brain. 



Instead of chemicals or implanted electrodes, the researchers used radiofrequency energy at 2.45 GHz to stimulate the pathway for five minutes.



Volunteers sat still while a patch antenna, about 2 inches across, rested roughly 4 inches in front of the forehead. The antenna did not touch skin, and the output ranged from 10 to 20 watts.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-smell-boost-after-short-radio-waves">Smell boost after short radio waves</h2>



Before and after stimulation, participants took a standard odor threshold test that uses pen like odor sticks and the solvent n butanol. This is the threshold component of the widely used Sniffin' Sticks battery procedure.



Scores rose markedly after one session and stayed higher for about a week. In healthy participants, the average threshold improved from typical baseline values around 9 to near the top of the 16 point scale after stimulation.



The team did not test people with <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/your-dna-may-explain-why-you-love-or-hate-certain-smells/">smell</a> loss yet. The next step is to move into patient groups with measurable impairment.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-radio-waves-boost-smell">Why radio waves boost smell</h2>



Odor detection begins when receptors in the nose send impulses to the olfactory bulb, then onward to higher brain regions. The skull blunts surface currents, so typical electrical stimulation does not easily reach this deep circuit.



Radio signals can pass through tissue and bone without contact and deposit small amounts of energy. 



In the lab recordings, the experts saw stronger electrical activity in the 30 to 100 Hz band during and after exposure, a pattern that fits enhanced responsiveness in the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/body-odor-may-subconsciously-change-how-people-interact/">olfactory</a> pathway.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-safe-but-short-term-effect">Safe but short term effect</h2>



The team noted that the antenna does not heat the skin during a short session. The exposure stayed within a narrow window and the device sat off the body.



“This study represents the first time that a person’s sense of smell has been improved using radio waves without any physical contact or chemicals, and the first attempt to explore radio frequency stimulation as a potential therapy for neurological conditions," said Jang. 



"This will help us determine whether the treatment can truly benefit those who need it most."



Two limitations of the study stand out. The sample included only healthy adults, and the benefit faded after roughly a week without retreatment.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-smell-deserves-more-attention">Why smell deserves more attention</h2>



Smell problems are common in respiratory infections and were a striking feature of the early COVID 19 waves. 



A 2024 review summarizes how olfactory loss can linger and affect daily life for many patients, even as overall risk has fallen since 2020.



Loss of smell also acts as an early flag in neurodegenerative disease. Robust evidence shows that olfactory dysfunction is prevalent in the first stages of Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease - often years before motor or memory symptoms surface.



The current treatments for restoring smell are limited. Olfactory training with selected scents can help some people gradually over months, but it seldom leads to an immediate recovery.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-broader-implications-of-the-study">Broader implications of the study</h2>



If future trials in patients mirror the early pattern in healthy adults, smell clinics could incorporate a short radio wave session. The potential applications range from post-viral anosmia to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/helping-others-can-slow-age-related-cognitive-decline/">age-related decline</a>.



Professionals who rely on fine discrimination, from roasters to perfumers, may also be interested in time limited sensitivity boosts for training and calibration. 



These applications will need careful boundaries and clear safety data before moving beyond the lab.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-recovering-smell-with-radio-signals">Recovering smell with radio signals</h2>



The early human data suggest that a brief, contact free radio signal can nudge the olfactory system into a more sensitive state for several days. It is simple, fast, and based on hardware that is easy to standardize.



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/losing-your-sense-of-smell-is-linked-to-over-100-diseases/">Loss of smell</a> affects safety, diet, mood, and even memory. Providing clinicians with another safe option for treatment would be valuable, especially for the many people who don’t recover on their own after an infection or injury.



The study is published in <a href="https://pubs.aip.org/aip/apb/article/9/3/036112/3359455/Non-contact-radiofrequency-stimulation-to-the" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">APL Bioengineering</a>.



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Radio waves can boost our sense of smell without contact

Our noses do a quiet job. Every day they flag...

We drain urine away daily without even thinking about it. But what if that waste could be used to produce food, provide power, and provide cleaner sanitation? Engineers have created a new system to do just that - and it's powered by sunlight.



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/human-waste-could-be-used-as-sustainable-fertilizer/">Fertilizers</a> are costly in much of the world, electricity is unreliable, and clean water is scarce. At the same time, most wastewater goes untreated, leading to severe health and environmental issues.



The new model provides a workable solution, converting a steady stream of waste into something valuable: power and fertilizer, all while treating wastewater to make it safer.



This system uses solar panels to recover nitrogen from urine - without needing a power grid, chemical plants, or fancy equipment.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-from-urine-to-crop-nutrients">From urine to crop nutrients</h2>



At the heart of the system is a clever trick: pulling ammonia - a form of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/nitrogen-was-plentiful-for-early-life-on-earth/">nitrogen</a> - out of urine and turning it into ammonium sulfate, a type of fertilizer. It does this with a series of chambers and specialized membranes. Solar energy drives ions through the system, separating and capturing ammonia in the process.



Solar panels do more than generate electricity. They also generate heat - typically wasted - that this system captures and uses.



Copper tubing draws heat from the back of the panels and uses it to warm the system. That heat accelerates the process of separation, allowing the gas to become fertilizer more quickly.



There’s an added benefit: when solar panels are cool, they actually generate more electricity. By capturing the heat and putting it to work, the system not only functions at a higher speed - it also produces more energy.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-power-of-nitrogen-in-urine">The power of nitrogen in urine</h2>



“This project is about turning a waste problem into a resource opportunity,” said William Tarpeh, assistant professor of chemical engineering at the <a href="https://engineering.stanford.edu/">Stanford School of </a><a href="https://engineering.stanford.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Engineering</a>.



“With this system, we’re capturing nutrients that would otherwise be flushed away or cause environmental damage and turning them into something valuable - fertilizer for crops.”



Why does that matter? Because nitrogen is essential for growing food. It’s the main ingredient in most fertilizers. But producing nitrogen fertilizers the traditional way uses a lot of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/air-pollution-from-fossil-fuels-kills-5-million-people-each-year/">fossil fuels</a>. It's also centralized in wealthier countries, making it expensive and harder to access in lower-income areas.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-producing-fertilizer-where-it-s-needed">Producing fertilizer where it's needed</h2>



Globally, the nitrogen in human urine equals about 14 percent of annual fertilizer demand. That’s a massive, mostly untapped resource.



“Each person produces enough nitrogen in their urine to fertilize a garden, but much of the world is reliant on expensive imported fertilizers instead,” said Orisa Coombs, the study’s lead author and a Ph.D. student in mechanical engineering. 



“You don’t need a giant chemical plant or even a wall socket. With enough sunshine, you can produce fertilizer right where it’s needed, and potentially even store or sell excess electricity.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-better-results-with-solar-heat">Better results with solar heat</h2>



In testing, the updated prototype showed significant improvements over earlier designs. By combining solar power and waste heat, power generation increased by nearly 60 percent. Ammonia recovery also became more efficient - up by more than 20 percent.



That’s because about 80 percent of the energy from the sun that strikes<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/solar-panels-are-1000-times-more-powerful-with-new-tech-breakthrough/"> solar panels</a> typically gets wasted as heat. This system harnesses that heat, preventing panels from overheating and turning what was once a drawback into part of the solution.



The scientists also constructed a simulation to observe how the system would behave in varrying conditions - changing sunlight, temperature, and electrical configurations. 



In places like Uganda, where fertilizer is costly and energy is limited, the system could generate up to $4.13 per kilogram of nitrogen recovered. That’s more than twice the potential earnings in the U.S.



The next step is to build a larger prototype with three times the capacity. It will process more urine, produce fertilizer more quickly, and operate more effectively under strong sunlight.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-clean-energy-cleaner-water">Clean energy, cleaner water</h2>



This technology could also be a major step forward for sanitation. Right now, more than 80 percent of the world’s <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/un-report-wastewater-is-a-hidden-solution-to-the-climate-crisis/">wastewater</a> isn’t treated. That means nitrogen and other waste ends up in rivers, lakes, and groundwater, harming the environment and public health.



By removing nitrogen from urine before it enters the water system, the device makes what’s left behind safer to discharge or even reuse for things like irrigation. 



And it can do that without needing to be plugged in - perfect for communities without access to sewage systems or reliable power.



“We often think of water, food, and energy as completely separate systems, but this is one of those rare cases where engineering innovation can help solve multiple problems at once,” said Coombs. “It’s clean, it’s scalable, and it’s literally powered by the sun.”



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s44221-025-00477-w" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature Water</a>.



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How solar power can transform urine into fertilizer

We drain urine away daily without even thinking about it....

Some people stay sharp and steady into old age, while others face illness and limits far sooner. A new study maps 408 genes across distinct patterns of accelerated aging, known as frailty, and shows these patterns arise from different biology.



Rather than one score, the team modeled a general genetic factor plus six specific factors that track shared signals across 30 aging deficits, moving beyond a single category for everyone.



Study lead author Isabelle Foote is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Colorado Boulder’s <a href="https://www.colorado.edu/ibg/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Institute for Behavioral Genetics</a>.



The researchers analyzed genetic and health records from the UK Biobank - a 500,000-person resource designed for large-scale population research. The scale allowed the team to detect subtle effects that smaller cohorts often miss.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-same-score-different-health-risks">Same score, different health risks</h2>



Clinicians often use a frailty index - a count of 30 to 40 deficits across symptoms, diseases, and functions, to estimate risk in older adults. 



That approach is useful in clinics but can hide why two people with the same score need different care.



Previous research has shown that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/flavonol-rich-foods-reduce-the-risk-of-developing-frailty/">frailty</a> reflects the accumulation of deficits and varies widely among people the same age. Dividing the score into distinct domains creates a clearer map for intervention.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-genes-link-aging-and-frailty">Genes link aging and frailty</h2>



Some of the signals appear in biologically familiar places, including the transcription factor SP1, which regulates genes tied to amyloid and tau in Alzheimer’s disease and shows altered levels in patient brain tissue.



SP1 also participates in immune and stress-response pathways, suggesting one route by which inflammation might contribute to cognitive decline.



Other findings intersect with metabolic control, such as FTO, a gene whose common variants are strongly associated with higher body mass index and obesity across the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/womens-egg-cells-shield-dna-from-the-effects-of-aging/">life course</a>. 



Connections like these align with frailty subtypes that center on cognition, mobility, metabolism, and social context without presuming a single cause.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-targeting-aging-not-just-disease">Targeting aging, not just disease</h2>



The findings support geroscience - the idea that targeting the biology of aging could lower the risk for many conditions at once, rather than chasing each disease separately. 



“To be able to identify treatments to stop or reverse accelerated biological aging, you need to know what the underlying biology is," noted Foote. "This is the largest study yet to use <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-are-experimenting-with-new-approach-to-fight-and-stop-human-aging-necrosis/">genetics</a> to try to do that.”



“This paper suggests that it’s probably not going to be a single magic pill to address all the diseases that come with aging, but maybe it doesn’t need to be hundreds anymore,” said study co-author Andrew Grotzinger.



The experts recommend adding subtypes to frailty evaluations. This would allow doctors to target cognitive frailty with dementia prevention and metabolic frailty with measures to reduce risks for heart disease and diabetes. Researchers can test these steps now, while genetics fuels the search for new targets.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-genetic-scores-may-guide-prevention">Genetic scores may guide prevention</h2>



One near-term tool is the polygenic risk score, which summarizes thousands of small genetic effects into a single number estimating predisposition for a trait like frailty.



Early validation work shows that such scores predict frailty in independent cohorts, explaining about two percent of the variance in older adults. This tool could flag people who may benefit from earlier screening or coaching.



Scores are not destiny, and their performance depends on <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/who-are-the-japanese-people-dna-study-results-upend-previous-ancestry-beliefs/">ancestry</a>, sample size, and context. This is why experts caution against overinterpreting a single score outside well-studied populations. As datasets diversify and clinical studies mature, the numbers should become more precise.



The larger lesson here is that precision matters in aging science, because unhealthy aging is not a single pathway. With better maps, researchers and clinicians can match prevention and treatment to the biology that truly needs attention.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-genes-cluster-traits-in-aging-science">Genes cluster traits in aging science</h2>



The study draws on a large genome-wide association study, which searches for links between genes and traits. The team applied a method called genomic structural equation modeling to uncover hidden genetic factors that help explain why certain traits tend to cluster together.



In plain terms, this modeling method tests whether the same sets of variants tend to occur alongside specific constellations of deficits - exactly the kind of insight needed when aging is not a single process.



Genomic SEM distinguishes which genetic effects are shared across areas - such as thinking ability, movement, metabolism, and disease risk - and which are unique.



It also accounts for the fact that some of the same individuals may appear in multiple datasets. That is how the team identified a broad factor and six specific factors that better match what doctors observe in practice.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-genes-matter-but-context-matters-more">Genes matter, but context matters more</h2>



The authors propose adding subtypes to frailty evaluations. This approach lets doctors target cognitive frailty with <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/risk-of-dementia-is-much-higher-than-previously-thought/">dementia</a> prevention and metabolic frailty with strategies to lower heart disease and diabetes risks.



The path forward includes recruiting broader cohorts and building tools that perform equitably across groups.



Genes play a role in aging, but life experiences also matter. Because social and behavioral factors are important, care plans must account for environment, habits, and support networks - not just DNA. The genetic map adds resolution, but it does not erase the rest of the picture.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41588-025-02269-0" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature Genetics</a>.



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Why some people age better: Hundreds of genes identified

Some people stay sharp and steady into old age, while...

When people think about climate change, carbon dioxide and melting ice usually come to mind. But there’s another, less obvious factor at play: iron in the ocean.



A new study from the <a href="https://manoa.hawaii.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Hawai‘i</a> at Mānoa shows how the supply of iron in the South Pacific shifted over the last 93 million years.



The shift in iron changed how <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/metallic-beads-in-arctic-mud-suggest-a-comet-slammed-into-earth-relatively-recently/">marine</a> life grew and how carbon dioxide moved in and out of the atmosphere.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-ocean-iron-matters">Why ocean iron matters</h2>



Iron feeds phytoplankton, the tiny plants floating in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/earth-was-once-a-green-marble-before-its-oceans-turned-blue/">seawater</a>. When they grow, they pull carbon dioxide out of the air. Without enough iron, phytoplankton struggle, and less carbon dioxide gets absorbed. 



Today we know this link well, but the UH Mānoa team wanted to know how iron shaped oceans in the distant past. To investigate, the researchers studied deep-sea sediment cores collected far from any continent.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-changing-iron-in-ocean">Changing iron in ocean</h2>



Study lead author Logan Tegler is a postdoctoral researcher in the UH Mānoa <a href="https://www.soest.hawaii.edu/soestwp/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology</a>.



"Over the past 93 million years, we found that five primary sources of iron have influenced the South Pacific Ocean: dust, iron from far off ocean sources, two distinct hydrothermal sources, and a volcanic ash," explained Tegler.



"These sources shifted over time as the sites gradually migrated away from mid-ocean ridges." 



At first, most iron came from underwater hydrothermal vents. Later, dust carried by wind slowly became more important. Around 30 million years ago, it took over as the main source.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-climate-shifts-and-dust">Climate shifts and dust</h2>



The study connects shifts in iron supply directly to major climate events in Earth’s <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-an-ocean-of-fire-shaped-early-earths-core-according-to-a-new-study/">history</a>. 



During warmer greenhouse periods, when the planet lacked polar ice, volcanic ash and seafloor hydrothermal vents acted as the main suppliers of iron to the ocean. These sources provided a steady flow of nutrients, helping sustain marine productivity.



Later, as Earth cooled and Antarctica developed permanent ice sheets, the dynamics changed. Stronger winds began carrying larger amounts of continental dust into the South Pacific. 



The dust became a dominant source of iron, replacing volcanic and hydrothermal inputs. The change mattered because not all iron sources are equal. Some forms are more accessible to microbes, while others are harder to use. 



These differences influenced which organisms could thrive, altering marine food webs and carbon uptake. By linking climate transitions with nutrient supply, the study shows how even small elements can reshape the global carbon cycle.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ocean-life-under-low-iron">Ocean life under low iron</h2>



“Understanding this historical context helps us comprehend how iron has shaped ecosystems,” said Tegler. 



“It also raises questions about how the iron cycle might have favored certain microbes over others - an ecosystem with persistently low iron could favor microbes adapted to survive under iron-limited conditions, such as diatoms.”



In large parts of the Pacific, the amount of available iron still sets the limit on how much phytoplankton can grow. Fewer phytoplankton mean less carbon dioxide leaves the air.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-today-s-unusual-pattern">Today’s unusual pattern</h2>



“Modern dust deposition in the South Pacific is extremely low," said Tegler. “However, our findings surprisingly suggest that the South Pacific is currently receiving more dust than it has at any point in the last 90 million years, which is remarkable given its current reputation as an iron poor region!”



This isn’t just random. Rising dust relates to shifts in climate and geology. Drying in Australia, uplift of landmasses, altered wind paths, human-driven changes, and broader atmospheric circulation patterns all play a part. Compared to the deep past, today’s South Pacific is in an unusual state.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ocean-changes-due-to-iron">Ocean changes due to iron</h2>



“As human activities increase iron input to the oceans through industrial emissions and biomass burning, understanding past perturbations of the iron cycle is crucial for predicting and mitigating adverse effects,” noted Tegler.



Iron’s history shows how one nutrient can shift ecosystems and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ocean-climate-fixes-could-worsen-the-oxygen-crisis/">climate</a>. By studying how iron availability changed over millions of years, scientists gain insight into today’s environmental challenges. 



Ultimately, the research helps predict future impacts on Earth’s carbon balance, marine life, and overall climate resilience.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2025PA005149" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology</a>.



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How ocean iron has shaped Earth's climate history

When people think about climate change, carbon dioxide and melting...

Space just dealt astronomers a curveball - one that’s 82 light-years from home, potentially capable of answering fundamental questions about some of the strangest objects in our galaxy: brown dwarfs.



Brown dwarfs are neither stars nor <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-map-twin-stars-to-discover-hidden-planets-with-unprecedented-accuracy/">planets</a>. They're caught in between. Too small to fuel the nuclear fusion that powers true stars, but too massive to be planets, they’ve always been difficult to define. 



Now, a strange new quadruple system might give researchers exactly what they’ve needed to make sense of these in-between objects.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-two-stars-two-dwarfs-one-orbit">Two stars, two dwarfs, one orbit</h2>



Astronomers have discovered a system with not just one, but four objects locked together in space. Two <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/planets-orbiting-red-dwarf-stars-may-not-be-habitable-ultraviolet-uv-radiation/">red dwarf stars</a> orbit each other on one side. 



On the opposite, two brown dwarfs are in another close pair. And these two pairs, in concert, orbit a common center of mass - like an intergalactic waltz taking more than 100,000 years to complete a full rotation.



This unusual system is called UPM J1040−3551 AabBab. It's located in the constellation <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/hundreds-of-glittering-galaxies-captured-in-the-antlia-cluster/">Antlia</a>, about 82 light-years away from us. That might sound far, but on a cosmic scale, it’s relatively close. 



The researchers who found the system used data from the European Space Agency’s Gaia satellite and NASA’s WISE mission. These tools helped them spot the signs of two separate objects moving in sync through space. 



Because the orbit is so slow, scientists couldn’t see it directly. Instead, they matched angular velocity - basically, the speed and direction of the objects’ motion.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-red-dwarfs-meet-brown-dwarfs">Red dwarfs meet brown dwarfs</h2>



The system breaks down into two main parts. The brighter pair, UPM J1040−3551 Aab, consists of two red dwarfs. These are small, cool stars that appear orange in visible light. 



You’d never spot them with your naked eye - not even the closest red dwarf, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/proxima-centauri-the-closest-star-to-earth-is-extremely-violent/">Proxima Centauri</a>, is visible without a telescope. This pair is about 100,000 times dimmer than Polaris, the North Star.



Then there’s the dimmer pair, UPM J1040−3551 Bab. They are brown dwarfs, and they produce hardly any visible light. They're only visible in the near-infrared part of the spectrum and are about 1,000 times fainter than their red dwarf stars. That makes them extremely difficult to observe.



The red dwarf pair was initially indicated by a tiny “wobble” observed in Gaia’s data. It was later verified when astronomers saw it was roughly 0.7 magnitudes brighter than one red dwarf would be if it were alone at that distance. That extra brightness was a tip-off - it meant two stars were glowing together.



The brown dwarf binary was identified in the same manner. They were brighter in the infrared than one object should be, which caused scientists to suspect, and then confirm, that two brown dwarfs in close orbit were present.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-makes-this-system-special">What makes this system special</h2>



The researchers used the SOAR Telescope in Chile to gather more data. Dr. Felipe Navarete led the work on the ground, using optical and near-infrared spectrographs to learn more about the stars and brown dwarfs.



“These observations were challenging due to the faintness of the brown dwarfs, but the capabilities of SOAR allowed us to collect the crucial spectroscopic data needed to understand the nature of these objects," said Dr. Navarete.



The red dwarfs turned out to be <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/exoplanet-found-orbiting-the-closest-star-to-our-sun-barnards-star/">M-type stars</a>, each with temperatures around 3,200 Kelvin (about 2,900°C). They’re each about 17% the mass of the Sun.



The brown dwarfs are even more extreme. They’re T-type, with temperatures of 820 Kelvin (550°C/1,020°F) and 690 Kelvin (420°C/790°F). They’re about the size of Jupiter, but with masses 10 to 30 times greater. At the low end of that scale, they’re brushing up against what scientists call “planetary mass.”



“This is the first quadruple system ever discovered with a pair of T-type brown dwarfs orbiting two stars,” said Dr. MariCruz Gálvez-Ortiz. “The discovery provides a unique cosmic laboratory for studying these mysterious objects.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-brown-dwarfs-help-measure-age">Brown dwarfs help measure age</h2>



One of the biggest puzzles with brown dwarfs is figuring out their age and mass. That’s not easy, because brown dwarfs cool down over time. That cooling changes how they appear in telescopes. 



So when scientists spot a brown dwarf with a certain <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/habitable-exoplanet-gliese-12-b-only-40-light-years-away-earth-like-temperatures/">temperature</a>, they can’t immediately tell whether it’s young and small, or old and large. This is called the “age-mass degeneracy problem.” Basically, temperature alone doesn’t tell the full story.



“Brown dwarfs with wide stellar companions whose ages can be determined independently are invaluable at breaking this degeneracy as age benchmarks,” said Professor Hugh Jones. 



“UPM J1040−3551 is particularly valuable because H-alpha emission from the brighter pair indicates the system is relatively young, between 300 million and 2 billion years old.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-orbiting-dwarfs-refine-science">Orbiting dwarfs refine science</h2>



Since the brown dwarfs revolve around one another, astronomers one day expect to follow their path and determine their precise masses. 



That would allow scientists to have an unusual opportunity to tune the models that scientists employ to forecast the long-term evolution of the brown dwarfs.



“This system offers a dual benefit for brown dwarf science,” said Professor Adam Burgasser of the University of California San Diego. 



“It can serve as an age benchmark to calibrate low-temperature atmosphere models, and as a mass benchmark to test <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/new-model-reveals-the-evolution-of-the-earths-surface/">evolutionary models</a> if we can resolve the brown dwarf binary and track its orbit.”



For now, UPM J1040−3551 AabBab is one of the best natural laboratories in space for testing ideas about how stars and brown dwarfs form and evolve. It’s a rare find, and for researchers hunting answers about the universe’s strangest objects, it couldn’t have come at a better time.



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://academic.oup.com/mnras/article/542/2/656/8155088?login=false" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society</a>.



Image Credit: Jiaxin Zhong/ Zenghua Zhang



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Rare quadruple star system may solve the mystery of brown dwarfs

Space just dealt astronomers a curveball - one that’s 82...

Bees are the quiet workers behind much of the world’s food. Their role in pollination underpins ecosystems and agriculture alike. Yet honeybee populations are shrinking due to climate stress, pesticides, diseases, and loss of floral diversity. This crisis now threatens global food security.



A new international study led by the <a href="https://www.ox.ac.uk" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Oxford</a> introduces an innovative food supplement for honeybees. Using engineered yeast, the researchers recreated essential sterols usually found in pollen, creating a diet that supports healthier, more resilient <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/heat-and-pollution-are-changing-the-buzz-of-bees/">colonies</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-sterols-matter">Why sterols matter</h2>



Honeybees cannot make sterols on their own. Unlike most <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/when-bees-arrive-late-flowers-may-vanish/">insects</a> that convert dietary sterols into cholesterol, bees must directly consume them. These molecules are critical for cell membranes and hormones. Without them, colonies fail to reproduce and collapse.



Normally, bees obtain sterols from pollen stored as bee bread. Nurse bees digest this pollen, transfer sterols into their glands, and then feed larvae through glandular secretions. 



Despite the diversity of sterols in pollen, only six dominate in bee tissues: 24-methylenecholesterol, campesterol, isofucosterol, β-sitosterol, cholesterol, and desmosterol.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-yeast-based-bee-diet">Yeast-based bee diet</h2>



To replace these rare compounds, scientists turned to Yarrowia lipolytica, a yeast already considered safe in aquaculture. Using CRISPR-Cas9 editing, they reprogrammed its metabolic pathways to produce the precise sterols <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/science-is-giving-beekeepers-a-better-way-to-fight-colony-collapse/">bees</a> require. 



This involved deleting certain genes and introducing others from plants, algae, and even bacteria. Over several steps, the yeast was redesigned to yield a mixture of all six sterols.



The yeast biomass was then dried into powder and added to artificial diets. This made it possible to deliver complete nutrition without harvesting natural pollen at unsustainable scales.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-feeding-trials-in-glasshouses">Feeding trials in glasshouses</h2>



Colonies were placed in controlled glasshouses and fed only these diets for three months. The results were clear: bees given the sterol-rich yeast raised up to 15 times more larvae than those on standard substitutes. 



These colonies also kept brood production going long after sterol-deficient colonies had stopped.



Interestingly, when researchers measured sterols in the larvae, they matched those found in naturally foraging colonies. This showed that bees selectively transfer only the most vital sterols to their young.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-yeast-diets-help-bees-outdoors">Yeast diets help bees outdoors</h2>



Additional semi-field trials reinforced the results. <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/bees-sleep-like-humans-with-similar-brain-patterns/">Colonies</a> fed the mixed-sterol yeast diet maintained strong brood production into late summer, while control groups dwindled. 



Even when a heatwave reduced bee numbers across all groups, supplemented colonies recovered more quickly once nurse bees were added back.



Sterols from the engineered yeast accumulated in nurse bees but were selectively passed to the brood, confirming a fine-tuned biological mechanism. 



The sterol surrogate produced during yeast engineering, tetrahymanol, was consumed but never appeared in larvae, suggesting bees filter out unnecessary molecules.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-competition-for-limited-pollen">Competition for limited pollen</h2>



Honeybees pollinate more than 70% of leading crops, including almonds, apples, and cherries. Yet losses in U.S. colonies have reached nearly half per year, with forecasts predicting even higher numbers. 



For honeybees, poor nutrition amplifies the damage caused by mites, viruses, and pesticides.



“Honey bees are critically important pollinators for the production of crops such as almonds, apples, and cherries and so are present in some crop locations in very large numbers, which can put pressure on limited wildflowers," said study co-author Professor Phil Stevenson.



"Our engineered supplement could therefore benefit wild bee species by reducing competition for limited pollen supplies.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-bee-diets-and-food-security">Bee diets and food security</h2>



“We rely on honey bees to pollinate one in three bites of our food, yet bees face many stressors," said Danielle Downey of Project Apis m., who was not involved in the study. 



"Good nutrition is one way to improve their resilience to these threats, and in landscapes with dwindling natural forage for bees, a more complete diet supplement could be a game changer.”



The yeast biomass also offers proteins, fats, and vitamins. The researchers suggest it could be further engineered to add antioxidants, carotenoids, or beneficial fatty acids, creating a truly holistic feed for pollinators.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-future-of-bees-and-yeast-nutrition">Future of bees and yeast nutrition</h2>



While the results are promising, large-scale field studies are still needed. These will test how colonies perform in open environments and measure long-term pollination effects. If successful, farmers could see this supplement within two years.



Beyond honeybees, this approach could extend to other pollinators or even farmed insects, strengthening the foundation of sustainable agriculture worldwide. 



What began as a molecular tweak in yeast could reshape the survival prospects of pollinators and, in turn, our global food future.



The research was in collaboration with <a href="https://www.kew.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Kew Gardens</a>, the <a href="https://www.gre.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Greenwich</a>, and the Technical University of Denmark.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09431-y" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature</a>.



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Engineered bee diets can help protect global food security

Bees are the quiet workers behind much of the world’s...

Struggling to fall asleep at night? Science may have found the answer, and it is not a pill. It has long been known that exercise can help with sleep disorders, but the best type and routine were unclear. 



Now, researchers at <a href="https://www.hrbipe.edu.cn/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Harbin Sport University</a> in China have compared different workouts to determine which works best.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-the-study-was-conducted">How the study was conducted</h2>



The team used Network meta-analysis (<a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0895435624002932#:~:text=Network%20Meta%2Danalysis%20(NMA),evidence)%20to%20obtain%20network%20estimates." target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NMA</a>), a statistical method that allows comparisons across multiple types of exercise.&nbsp;



They searched five major scientific databases to include as many relevant studies as possible. The researchers collected data from Web of Science, PubMed, Cochrane, Embase, and Scopus, up until September 30, 2024.



They included 30 randomized controlled trials (<a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6235704/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">RCT</a>s) involving 2,576 participants from more than a dozen countries. Participants ranged in age and were all experiencing <a href="https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/11429-sleep-disorders" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">sleep difficulties</a>.



Importantly, two researchers independently extracted the data to minimize bias or mistakes. After analyzing the data, the researchers ranked the effectiveness of different types of exercise.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-which-exercise-improves-sleep-quality">Which exercise improves sleep quality</h2>



The study revealed that <a href="https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/yoga-effectiveness-and-safety" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">yoga</a> was most beneficial, especially when practiced at higher intensity for 30 minutes or less, twice a week. Consistency is key. The benefits were strongest when continued for eight to ten weeks.&nbsp;



<a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/fitness/in-depth/walking/art-20046261" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Walking</a> ranked second, followed by resistance training and aerobic exercise.&nbsp;



Why do these workouts matter? These activities could offer a safer, more accessible way to improve sleep for people with sleep disorders.



Treatments for sleep issues, like cognitive behavioral <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/new-therapy-may-break-the-cycle-of-overthinking-and-repetitive-negative-thoughts/">therapy</a> (CBT) and sleeping pills, do not always work for everyone. These treatments may also carry <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-sea-cucumbers-could-help-slow-the-spread-of-cancer/">side effects</a>, especially affecting older adults.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-do-shorter-sessions-work-better">Why do shorter sessions work better?</h2>



While this study does not explain exactly why yoga helps with sleep, previous research provides some insights. Yoga combines <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/practicing-mindfulness-can-quiet-the-noise-of-anxiety/">mindfulness</a> and physical activity in addition to boosting heart rate and building strength.



What sets yoga apart is its focus on breath control, which activates the parasympathetic nervous system, promoting calmness and inducing good-quality sleep. Timing and intensity both appear to influence its effect.



The key finding of this study was that shorter sessions may actually be more beneficial, contrary to what most of us believed. Excessive exercise can elevate cortisol, the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/why-stress-makes-us-take-more-risks-in-financial-decisions/">stress</a> hormone, which may make it harder to sleep.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-at-odds-with-previous-studies">At odds with previous studies</h2>



These findings challenge some earlier assumptions about yoga and sleep. Past research suggested hour-long yoga classes were best for sleep. 



Results also differ from a <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/physical-activity-basics/guidelines/adults.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">2023 study</a>, which suggested that moderate-intensity aerobic exercise performed three times a week was most effective. 



"If someone were to do some exercise earlier in the day, not right before bedtime, there can be some elevations in cortisol," said Justin Thomas, a sleep specialist at the <a href="https://www.uab.edu/home/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Alabama</a>. Exercising too close to bedtime may interfere with falling asleep.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-exercise-and-sleep-it-s-complicated">Exercise and sleep - it's complicated</h2>



The researchers were not able to determine how widely the results apply, since the study included trials with participants from a wide range of age groups.



"Some kinds of interventions may work well for someone who is in their 30s but be more difficult for someone who is in their 80s," said Arsenio Páez, a sleep researcher at <a href="https://www.concordia.ca/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Concordia University</a>.



For instance, older adults or those leading a sedentary lifestyle might benefit more from low-intensity workouts, while younger individuals with an active lifestyle might need a high-intensity routine.



That means the best routine can depend on age, lifestyle, and health history.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-one-size-does-not-fit-all">One size does not fit all</h2>



The scientists still require more data on the long-term effects of exercise on sleep. They stress that while exercise is good for sleep, there is no universal exercise routine that works for everyone.&nbsp;



Sleep and exercise are also influenced by sex and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-fruits-and-vegetables-improve-heart-health/">health</a> history. "We really need to look more at the differences between how men and women respond," said Páez.



For now, experts suggest sticking with what is practical and enjoyable, as the key is to stay active. 



"If a patient comes into my clinic and, for some reason, cannot do yoga, but they can walk, then I would still encourage walking rather than doing nothing," said Thomas.



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s41105-025-00596-7" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Sleep and Biological Rhythms</a>.



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One form of exercise is shown to improve sleep the most, according to studies

Struggling to fall asleep at night? Science may have found...

Cities do not sleep. Streetlights glow, billboards shimmer, and skies rarely turn fully dark. For humans, this makes late-night activity easier. For wildlife, especially birds, this shift in natural light can change the rhythm of life itself.



A new study shows that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/tropical-bird-populations-are-rapidly-shrinking-and-now-scientists-know-why/">birds</a> are singing later into the night in areas where artificial light brightens the sky.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-light-pollution-and-bird-activity">Light pollution and bird activity</h2>



Brent Pease, assistant professor in Southern Illinois University’s <a href="https://sfh.siu.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">School of Forestry and Horticulture</a>, and Neil Gilbert, assistant professor of biology at Oklahoma State University, gathered global data on more than 180 million bird vocalizations.



The researchers compared these calls with satellite imagery to study how birds respond to artificial night light.



“We were shocked by our findings: Under the brightest night skies, a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/birds-may-be-using-quantum-physics-for-migration/">bird</a>’s day is extended by nearly an hour,” Pease said. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-classroom-project-that-grew">A classroom project that grew</h2>



Pease began this project as a creative way to spark interest among undergraduates. He installed a microphone at Touch of Nature Outdoor Education Center, sending live birdsong into the Agriculture Building miles away. Soon, students could watch <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/birds-are-struggling-to-keep-pace-with-a-warming-climate/">species</a> activity on building monitors.



To advance the effort, Pease used <a href="https://birdweather.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">BirdWeather</a> devices. These tools, linked with Wi-Fi, GPS, and sensors, connect to BirdNET, a system developed by the Cornell <a href="https://www.birds.cornell.edu/home/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Lab of Ornithology</a> and Chemnitz University of Technology. The dashboard revealed in real time which birds were nearby.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-birds-act-under-light">How birds act under light</h2>



“We started seeing - in real time - which birds were at Touch of Nature, right in our Agriculture Building,” Pease said. 



“I realized that I stumbled upon something really important for wildlife research. All of a sudden, we not only know where species are but how they are behaving 24/7.”



Pease explained that BirdWeather allowed researchers to study bird behavior across vast regions and time spans, much like trail cameras transformed mammal research decades ago.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-golden-age-of-bird-conservation">Golden age of bird conservation </h2>



“We are just now entering the golden age of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/bird-evolution-timeline-pushed-back-20-million-years-by-baminornis-zhenghensis-discovery/">avian</a> conservation, all through machine learning and participatory science,” Pease said. He has long worked with citizen-science projects, including sound monitoring during the April 8, 2024 eclipse.



With BirdNET, researchers transformed audio recordings into spectrograms that visually capture each bird’s unique call. These were compared against a database of over 6,000 species.



Please noted that the machine learning algorithm makes it possible to analyze 24/7 audio recordings, which would otherwise take lifetimes to listen to.



“Neil and I are the first, to our knowledge, to apply and analyze the BirdWeather data in this way," said Pease.



"We have many research options, but first we focused on how birds are responding to global light pollution, which is a growing concern for humans and wildlife alike.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-big-eyed-birds-react-more-to-light">Big-eyed birds react more to light</h2>



The study revealed that the average delay in rest was about one hour, but not all species reacted equally.



“The next question was: why?” Pease said. “What is driving this response by birds? We had the idea that maybe it was a species’ photoreceptor sensitivity - their eyesight. And this turned out to be a key factor." 



"Species with large eyes relative to their body size had a disproportionately stronger response to artificial light at night. They were more sensitive to light at night than species with small eyes.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-pollution-s-effect-on-birds">Pollution's effect on birds</h2>



The supplementary analysis also looked at <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/some-birds-get-road-rage-when-exposed-to-traffic-noise/">noise pollution</a>, which often accompanies artificial light. Birds near roads behaved differently than those farther away, suggesting that noise can shift vocal activity.



However, the researchers concluded that the most consistent behavioral shifts were tied to light, not sound.



Interestingly, nocturnal species showed the opposite pattern. In bright landscapes, they vocalized less and shortened their nightly activity. 



For example, in the darkest settings a nocturnal bird might call around 1.6 times per night, while in bright environments it dropped closer to 1.1 times. Moonlight also played a role, amplifying or reducing activity depending on its phase.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-citizen-science-at-its-best">Citizen science at its best</h2>



Whether these changes benefit or harm birds is not yet clear. Extended time awake might provide more opportunities to feed or attract mates, but it could also mean reduced sleep and higher stress.



“This is citizen-science at its best,” Pease said. “A technology designed for people to check out the species in their own backyards has acquired an unprecedented amount of data since 2021 - over 1.4 billion vocalizations from more than 11,000 locations across the globe."



"Neil and I are determined to continue to apply the technology for wildlife conservation.”



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adv9472" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Science</a>.



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Light pollution makes birds around the world sing longer each day

Cities do not sleep. Streetlights glow, billboards shimmer, and skies...

Sixty-six million years ago, North America saw long, dark winters. Fossils now suggest tiny primates were already there, coping with ice and snow.



A new <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2423833122" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">analysis</a> turns the usual tropical origin story on its head. The research combines hundreds of fossils with climate models to track primate <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/most-endangered-primate-species-identified-in-new-report/">ancestors</a> through time.



“Our findings flip that narrative entirely,” said Jorge Avaria-Llautureo, an evolutionary biologist at the <a href="https://www.reading.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Reading</a>. His team traced the primate family tree back to chilly northern forests.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-primates-adapted-to-freezing-climates">Primates adapted to freezing climates</h2>



The team worked with the <a href="https://www.noaa.gov/jetstream/global/climate-zones/jetstream-max-addition-k-ppen-geiger-climate-subdivisions" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Köppen-Geiger</a> climate system, a scheme that sorts environments by average heat and rain. Their maps place the earliest true primates in a zone with hot summers and sub-freezing winters.



That habitat fits today’s upper Midwest more than a steamy jungle. It means our lineage started where annual temperature swings could reach 70 degrees Fahrenheit.



These ancestors likely looked like nimble squirrel-sized <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/female-dominance-in-primates-is-more-common-than-we-thought/">creatures</a>. They foraged at night, avoiding daytime chill.



Statistical models show a 70% chance that the first crown primates lived in what is now North America, with 30% pointing to Western Europe - territories then sitting near 45° N before plate motion. Their later travels reflect how moving land and changing skies steered evolution.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-fossils-reveal-primate-movement">Fossils reveal primate movement</h2>



Fossils alone cannot solve the puzzle because they capture animals only where sediments preserve bones. The new study adds computer methods that simulate how <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/visually-striking-primate-features-ease-tension-and-reduce-conflict/">species</a> move across shifting landmasses.



By feeding 902 living and extinct species into BayesTraits software, the group estimated branch-by-branch journeys. They then matched positions with climate layers produced by the Hadley climate model.



The results indicate that early primates stayed in cold or temperate zones for at least 18 million years. Tropical forests entered the picture much later.



Warmer global temperature spikes such as the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum did not speed their spread. Instead, local temperature swings mattered most.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-early-primates-made-long-journeys">Early primates made long journeys</h2>



When ancestral lineages ventured into new climate categories, they tended to roam farther. Major moves often involved crossing climate boundaries rather than continents.



Median treks reached roughly 349 miles, compared with 85 miles for moves within familiar conditions. The bigger jumps exposed populations to novel <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/primates-face-an-uncertain-future-due-to-climate-change/">habitats</a> and pressures.



Such leaps helped generate new species by separating kin groups long enough for them to drift apart genetically. The pattern echoes broad ecological models that link dispersal to diversification.



Independent work on North American mammals predicts roughly 9 % of species will fail to outrun current warming trends, underlining the cost of slow feet. Swift past wanderers hint at which modern lineages could thrive.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-primates-survived-cold">How primates survived cold </h2>



How could small primates endure months of scarce food and sub-freezing nights? One answer is hibernation, a state in which body temperature and metabolism plunge.



Today’s dwarf lemurs in Madagascar sleep underground for up to seven months each year, a strategy first documented in <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15215852/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">2004</a>.



Later <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/srep01768" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">fieldwork</a> showed that other dwarf lemur species also hibernate when mountain air turns icy.



These living examples show that primate physiology can slow to bear-like torpor, supporting the idea that ancient relatives did something similar.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-fast-climate-shifts-caused-changes">Fast climate shifts caused changes</h2>



The Reading group found that the rate, not the direction, of local change predicted primate success. Rapid swings in heat or rain pushed species to travel or perish.



That insight matters today because many forests are shifting faster than ever measured. Flexible species may cope, while specialists could hit a wall.



The study also separates global averages from local reality. A place can warm overall yet still see harsher cold snaps or erratic storms that jar wildlife.



Conservation planners often model future ranges with coarse climate grids. The new work argues for finer, neighborhood-scale maps.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-old-origin-ideas-were-wrong">Old origin ideas were wrong</h2>



Textbooks have long tied primate origins to lush equatorial canopies. That view leaned on early fossil finds labeled “paratropical” without rigorous climate checks.



By applying a single classification standard, the team showed that many supposed rain-forest sites were actually cool mixed forests.



The conclusion challenges popular origin theories like “visual predation,” which assume dense, warm vegetation shaped grasping hands and forward eyes. Those traits may have first evolved among conifers instead.



The researchers also found that <a href="http://cwd.huck.psu.edu/Bio414/Rosids.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">rosid</a> plants, common in temperate woods, diversified around the same time, offering fruit and sap to budding primates.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-primates-adapted-to-shifting-climates">Primates adapted to shifting climates</h2>



Early primates were tougher and more mobile than usually portrayed. They met freezing dawns, marched hundreds of miles, and only later settled in the tropics where most descendants remain.



Their story suggests resilience has always underpinned primate history, yet it came with extinctions for lineages that failed to keep pace.



Modern humans, one branch of that hardy clan, now drive the climate engine. Understanding our icy roots may remind us how quickly fortune can flip.



The study is published in <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2423833122" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>.



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Early primates evolved in cold climates, not tropical jungles

Sixty-six million years ago, North America saw long, dark winters....

Exposure to industrial pollution during pregnancy may ripple across generations. New evidence shows a child faces a higher risk of intellectual disability if a grandmother lived near clusters of industrial facilities while pregnant with one of the parents. 



The risk grows with the density of facilities, and signals are strongest through the maternal line, according to the study.



The work, led by the <a href="https://www.utah.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Utah</a>, draws on rare multigenerational records to test whether historical industrial <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/millions-of-people-die-from-air-pollution-each-year-yet-theres-still-a-lack-of-monitoring/">pollution</a> can shape neurodevelopment in descendants who were never directly exposed in the womb.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-air-pollution-s-future-toll">Air pollution’s future toll</h2>



“We know that breathing polluted air is dangerous for our own health now, but it’s scary to imagine what it could do to people’s unborn grandchildren,” said Sara Grineski, professor of sociology at the University of Utah and lead author of the study.



“The evidence from this study and many others force us to ask: What will be the legacy of the decisions that we make today?”



About one percent of Americans live with an intellectual disability. Past studies have tied risk to direct fetal exposure to toxins such as lead or mercury. The intergenerational question has been harder to test in people.



“It's much easier to study multigenerational effects on animals," Grineski said. "The research in humans is much harder to do - we have longer lifespans, we’re not going to expose people to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/plastics-supercharge-toxin-absorption-in-plants-and-humans/">toxins</a> on purpose, and it’s hard to get data on people who were alive 80 years ago.” 



“But it’s really important, especially as you think about intergenerational equity - what do we need to do to protect our future children and grandchildren?”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-historic-data-on-pollution-exposure">Historic data on pollution exposure</h2>



The team used the Utah Registry for Autism and Developmental Disabilities and the <a href="https://uofuhealth.utah.edu/huntsman/utah-population-database" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Utah Population Database</a> to identify children born statewide between 2000 and 2014. They selected those diagnosed with an intellectual <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ocean-plastics-linked-to-disability-risks-for-coastal-residents/">disability</a> and a control group without such diagnoses.



The population database uniquely retains linked birth certificates and historical addresses for parents and grandparents. This allowed the researchers to pinpoint where families lived during each pregnancy.



To reconstruct industrial exposure, the study tapped Dun &amp; Bradstreet business directories. Those listings include facility locations, years of operation, and <a href="https://www.census.gov/naics/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">North American Industry Classification System</a> codes.



The codes helped estimate health-relevant hazard profiles. Using those data, the team calculated the density of industrial facilities within two to three miles of each residence during the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/pregnancy-may-speed-up-aging-in-women/">pregnancies</a> of the child’s mother, the maternal grandmother, and the paternal grandmother.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tracking-toxic-exposure-footprints">Tracking toxic exposure footprints</h2>



Roger Renteria, a doctoral candidate in sociology, and Kevin Ramos, then an undergraduate GIS researcher, led the geospatial work.



“Industrial activity often produces concentrated releases of toxic pollutants that can persist in soil, air, and water for decades,” Renteria said.



“Linking facility data to historical residential addresses makes industrial exposure data especially valuable for studying multigenerational health impacts, which is rarely possible with other environmental hazards.”



Ramos said the process changed how he saw his own neighborhood. “It’s easy to overlook how much our surroundings influence our development and overall health. While working with the data, I discovered polluting industries near my own home that I hadn’t known about,” he said.



“Very few studies have explored this issue, and we believe our work is only beginning to uncover the long-term impacts industrial pollutants may have across generations.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-generational-effects-revealed">Generational effects revealed</h2>



The analysis found a consistent signal. A child’s odds of intellectual disability rose if any grandparent had lived near industrial facilities while pregnant with either parent.



The association was strongest for pollution exposure to the maternal grandmother pregnant with the child’s mother. The relationship followed a dose–response pattern: higher facility density correlated with higher risk.



The team also estimated the mother’s exposure during her own pregnancy with the child. That allowed them to consider present-day and ancestral exposures together. The results suggest risks can stack across time.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-medicine-meets-environmental-history">Medicine meets environmental history</h2>



Multigenerational effects complicate standard risk assessments. They extend the timeline of harm and the circle of those affected. They also raise questions of fairness. Communities living near industrial zones in the past may still be paying a price through their descendants today.



Grineski argues that health care and environmental agencies should respond. “Ancestral exposures, with present-day exposures, may contribute to cumulative <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/traffic-noise-exposure-increases-mental-health-risks/">health risks</a>,” said Grineski.



“The multigenerational impacts of toxics must be taken seriously by medical professionals, government agencies, and anyone concerned with protecting future generations.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-decisions-ripple-through-generations">Decisions ripple through generations</h2>



This is observational research, not a controlled trial. It cannot prove a specific <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/first-ever-detection-of-a-toxic-chemical-pollutant-in-the-atmosphere-mccps/">pollutant</a> caused a specific outcome. But the study’s strengths are notable: large linked datasets, verified addresses, and standardized industry codes across three generations.



The authors plan to probe mechanisms in future work. They will examine whether particular facility types, eras of operation, or mixtures of pollution exposures drive stronger effects.



The core message is simple: industrial decisions echo. They can shape risks for children not yet born when the smokestacks were active. That makes prevention urgent and cleanup more than symbolic. It is a way to reduce harm for families today and ease the burdens carried by their grandchildren tomorrow.



The stakes are summed up in Grineski’s question: What do our choices leave behind? The answer, this study suggests, lies not only in the air we breathe now, but also in the futures we pass along through our family trees.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0048969725015293?via%3Dihub" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Science of the Total Environment</a>.



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Impacts of industrial pollution exposure echo across generations

Exposure to industrial pollution during pregnancy may ripple across generations....

If an extraterrestrial civilization went hunting for human-made signals, the best time to listen would be during lineups between Earth and other planets. The best places to look would be solar systems oriented edge-on to us, within a few dozen light-years.



That’s the message from a new analysis of our strongest, most persistent transmissions into deep space. The study was led by researchers at <a href="https://www.psu.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Penn State</a> and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.



The experts mapped 20 years of human deep-space communications to show when and where they would be most detectable by observers beyond the solar system. The findings could improve our own search strategies for technosignatures.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-detecting-extraterrestrial-communications">Detecting extraterrestrial communications</h2>



“Humans are predominantly communicating with the spacecraft and probes we have sent to study other planets like <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mars-captured-in-true-color-like-youve-never-seen-the-red-planet-before/">Mars</a>,” said lead author Pinchen Fan, a graduate student in astronomy and astrophysics at Penn State.



Because Mars does not fully block transmissions, a distant spacecraft or planet aligned with Earth and another Solar System body could detect the spillover.



“This suggests that we should look for alignment of planets outside of our solar system when searching for extraterrestrial communications,” she said.



SETI scientists sift the sky for <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/searching-for-technosignatures-from-intelligent-life-in-the-cosmos/">technosignatures</a> - signs of past or present technology - as evidence of intelligent life.



“Researchers often search the universe for signs of past or present technology, called technosignatures, as evidence of intelligent life,” Fan said. 



“Considering the direction and frequency of our most common signals gives insights into where we should be looking to improve our chances of detecting alien technosignatures.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tracking-decades-of-space-transmissions">Tracking decades of space transmissions</h2>



The team analyzed public logs from NASA’s Deep Space Network (<a href="https://www.nasa.gov/communicating-with-missions/dsn/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">DSN</a>). This trio of powerful antenna complexes in California, Spain, and Australia that uplinks commands and downlinks data to and from interplanetary spacecraft and space telescopes.



The researchers matched each DSN transmission to the targets’ positions, reconstructing the timing and directionality of Earth’s most potent radio beams.



“NASA's Deep Space Network provides the crucial link between Earth and its interplanetary missions like the New Horizons spacecraft and the James Webb Space Telescope,” said co-author Joseph Lazio, a project scientist at <a href="https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">JPL</a>.



“It sends some of humanity's strongest and most persistent <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-detect-more-than-20-mysterious-radio-signals-from-space/">radio signals</a> into space, and the public logs of its transmissions allowed our team to establish the temporal and spatial patterns of those transmissions for the past 20 years.”



Most of those beams point toward Mars missions. Others target spacecraft elsewhere in the Solar System and observatories parked at the Sun–Earth Lagrange points. These are gravitational sweet spots where telescopes like the JWST hover in a stable alignment as seen from Earth.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-earth-signals-during-planetary-alignments">Earth signals during planetary alignments </h2>



Because the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/interstellar-tunnel-cosmic-channel-discovered-connects-our-solar-system-to-other-stars/">Solar System</a> is essentially flat - think planets tracing paths on a dinner plate - DSN transmissions hug Earth’s orbital plane, with the vast majority within five degrees of it. Eavesdroppers are most likely to catch our signals when Earth aligns with another planet.



”Based on data from the last 20 years, we found that if an extraterrestrial intelligence were in a location that could observe the alignment of Earth and Mars, there’s a 77 percent chance that they would be in the path of one of our transmissions,” Fan said.



“If they could view an alignment with another solar-system planet, there is a 12 percent chance they would be in the path of our transmissions.”



In practical terms, an average DSN signal would be detectable with Earth-class radio telescopes out to roughly 23 light-years, the team calculated. Focusing on edge-on star systems and timing observations with planetary alignments could greatly improve success odds.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-using-earth-s-signals-as-a-guide">Using Earth’s signals as a guide</h2>



Astronomers already watch exoplanets during transits, when a world crosses its star and dims it from our perspective. That same planetary alignment is when spillover from another civilization’s interplanetary chatter would most likely pass our line of sight.



“However, because we are only starting to detect a lot of exoplanets in the last decade or two, we do not know many systems with two or more transiting exoplanets,” Fan said.



“With the upcoming launch of NASA's <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/nasas-roman-space-telescope-hopes-to-solve-the-dark-matter-mystery/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope</a>, we expect to detect a hundreds of thousands previously undetected exoplanets, so our potential search area should increase greatly.”



The team noted that this alignment-first strategy also applies to searches for optical technosignatures. Future spacefaring societies may prefer <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/lasers-make-quantum-materials-reveal-their-hidden-properties/">lasers</a> for deep-space links, which spill less than radio beams. These signals would still be most detectable along the transmitter’s line to its target.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-searching-for-alien-signals">Searching for alien signals</h2>



“Humans are pretty early in our spacefaring journey," said Professor Jason Wright, the director of the Penn State Extraterrestrial Intelligence Center and co-author of the study. "As we reach further into our Solar System, our transmissions to other planets will only increase.” 



The next step is to identify nearby star systems that match those criteria, focusing on planetary alignments, and estimate how often any given system would have been swept by Earth’s beams over the past two decades.



In a field where vast search spaces collide with limited telescope time, aiming at the cosmic equivalents of our own “Mars call” geometry could be the efficiency gain that finally turns a faint whisper into a first hello.



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Planetary alignments may hold the key to detecting alien life

If an extraterrestrial civilization went hunting for human-made signals, the...

Moisture isn’t just a background player in the atmosphere. New research shows it can make one kind of atmospheric block dig in and linger while weakening another. 



The study helps explain why some heat waves, cold spells, droughts, and flood patterns persist for days or weeks - and why some climate models have predicted fewer blocking events as the planet warms.



The research was led by Zhaoyu Liu, a Ph.D. student in the Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences at <a href="https://www.eaps.purdue.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Purdue University</a>. Lei Wang, an assistant professor who conceived the idea and served as corresponding author, set the study in motion.



Their paper reframes a decades-old assumption about a “dry” atmosphere and replaces it with a moisture-aware view of how atmospheric blocks evolve.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-when-the-jet-stream-stops">When the jet stream stops</h2>



Atmospheric blocking occurs when large-scale pressure patterns stall the normal west-to-east flow. Ridge blocks are bulging domes of high pressure that shove the jet stream north and often anchor <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/africas-heat-waves-are-getting-hotter-longer-and-deadlier/">heat waves</a>.



Dipole blocks pair a high and low side by side, locking contrasting weather in place. In both cases, persistence is the problem. The longer the block, the greater the impacts.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-dry-theories-miss-moisture">Dry theories miss moisture</h2>



“Since the beginning of modern meteorology (around the 1940s), most classical theories for atmospheric blocking were developed based on the assumption that we are living in a completely dry world,” Wang said.



“Obviously, that assumption was helpful for simplifying the processes to its essence, but a completely dry assumption is not the case in the real atmosphere.”



In reality, moist air rises, condenses, and releases latent heat. That “diabatic” heating changes pressure patterns, feeds certain waves, and can either reinforce or erode a block. The question has been how - and whether the answer differs by block type.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-moisture-s-split-role-in-the-atmosphere">Moisture’s split role in the atmosphere</h2>



The team shows that the atmosphere’s moisture doesn’t act uniformly. It amplifies some blocks and damps others.



“We find that while moisture-induced diabatic heating is conducive to the persistence of ridge blocks, it exerts a surprising damping effect that significantly weakens the amplitude of dipole blocks,” Wang said.



That split personality helps untangle a climate-model puzzle. As the air warms, it can hold more moisture. If moisture makes ridges tougher but softens dipoles, then the balance of blocking behaviors can shift.



Some models have projected fewer total blocks in a warmer <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/looking-to-earths-ancient-climate-to-predict-our-future/">climate</a>. The new mechanism shows how a moister atmosphere could, paradoxically, reduce the strength or number of dipole blocks even as it props up ridges.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-physics-of-blocking">The physics of blocking</h2>



To move beyond patterns and into causes, the researchers leaned on the geopotential height tendency equation. This is a backbone of atmospheric dynamics and links heating and motion to changes in pressure surfaces aloft.



With it, they offered a physical interpretation for how latent heat released by condensation can reinforce high-pressure domes while sapping the seesawing strength of adjacent high–low pairs. 



The result is a clearer mechanistic bridge from <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/clouds-are-shrinking-and-making-the-earth-hotter/">clouds</a> and rain to the fate of stalled weather regimes.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-road-rules-meet-weather">Road rules meet weather</h2>



Wang compares blocked flows to congestion on a highway. “Without considering moisture, yes, blocks can happen,” Wang said.



“However, the role of moisture is just like the road condition at the time of the traffic jam. Sometimes, if the blocks are of different shapes (such as trough or dipole), they may exert an influence to reduce the strength of the blocks.”



In other words, depending on the configuration, moisture can act like a slick surface that loosens the jam. Or, for ridge blocks, it can be the sticky pavement that slows everything down.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-moisture-improves-forecasts">Moisture improves forecasts</h2>



“Blocking events usually lead to extreme weather events, such as heat waves or cold spells or <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/drought-triggers-early-autumn-by-forcing-leaves-to-fall/">droughts</a>,” Wang said.



“Recognizing and unraveling these distinct roles of diabatic heating for different types of blocks will help us to better predict the evolution of blocking events.”



That prospect matters most on the subseasonal-to-seasonal timescales - two to eight weeks ahead&nbsp; where forecast skill is notoriously thin and societal stakes are high.



Improved treatment of moisture-block interactions can help forecasters anticipate whether a ridge will lock down and intensify a heat wave, or whether a dipole configuration will fade sooner than expected. 



This insight can also help climate modelers diagnose why different models disagree on blocking trends and adjust physics accordingly.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-wetter-view-of-extremes">A wetter view of extremes</h2>



Wang’s group studies large-scale dynamics on Earth and other planets, with a particular eye on blocks and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/extreme-weather-is-pushing-nature-toward-a-breaking-point/">extreme weather</a>. The goal is to close the forecast gap on events that cause outsized damage but remain hard to predict. 



This study’s message is both simple and actionable: moisture matters, and it matters differently depending on the shape of the block.



That insight updates a foundational theory without discarding its elegance. It takes the clean “dry-world” framework of classic meteorology and adds the messy ingredient that nature never leaves out. 



In doing so, it offers a path to sharper warnings for the high-impact spells that define our weather memories - when heat lingers, rain won’t quit, or cold air refuses to budge.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-60811-4" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature Communications</a>.



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Moisture in the atmosphere causes extreme weather to last longer

Moisture isn’t just a background player in the atmosphere. New...

<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=2E0mn5mTvhQ
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">'Death Star' moon Mimas conceals a 15-million-year-old ocean that scientists never expected.</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-hidden-waters-beneath-ancient-craters">Hidden waters beneath ancient craters</h2>



Scientists have made a startling discovery that challenges everything we thought we knew about <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/saturn-moon-mimas-has-remarkably-young-ocean/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Saturn's moon Mimas</a>. Beneath the heavily cratered surface that earned it the nickname "Death Star" lies a global ocean that formed just 5 to 15 million years ago—a remarkably young age by cosmic standards.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cassini-data-reveals-orbital-secrets">Cassini data reveals orbital secrets</h2>



The discovery, led by Dr. Valéry Lainey of the <a href="https://observatoiredeparis.psl.eu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Observatoire de Paris</a>, emerged from careful analysis of <a href="https://www.nasa.gov" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NASA</a>'s Cassini spacecraft data. By studying subtle irregularities in Mimas's orbit around Saturn, researchers detected the gravitational signature of liquid water hidden 20 to 30 kilometers beneath the moon's icy shell.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-an-unlikely-ocean-world">An unlikely ocean world</h2>



At only 400 kilometers in diameter, Mimas seemed like the least likely candidate to harbor a subsurface ocean. Unlike other ocean moons such as Europa and Enceladus, which show clear surface signs of internal activity, Mimas displays no obvious hints of the liquid water beneath its ancient, crater-scarred exterior.



"Mimas is a small moon, and its heavily cratered surface gave no hint of the hidden ocean beneath," explained Dr. Nick Cooper from <a href="https://www.qmul.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Queen Mary University of London</a>, a study co-author.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-implications-for-astrobiology">Implications for astrobiology</h2>



The ocean's recent formation makes Mimas a prime target for studying how oceans develop and potentially support life. This discovery adds another member to the exclusive club of ocean worlds in our solar system, each offering unique insights into the conditions necessary for habitability.



The research, published in <a href="https://www.nature.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature</a> journal, demonstrates how advanced orbital analysis can reveal hidden features of celestial bodies, opening new possibilities for understanding ocean formation throughout the cosmos.



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Scientists discover unexpected young ocean on Saturn's cratered moon Mimas

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2E0mn5mTvhQ 'Death Star' moon Mimas conceals a 15-million-year-old ocean that...

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



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



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



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



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



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



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Worms dominated seas before dinosaurs

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



The full study was published in the journal Current Biology.



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Earth's oldest forest found in the United States

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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The environmental problem we actually solved

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

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

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







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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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What to plant in your garden in mid-July

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

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

<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>.



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Wildlife tunnels save millions of amphibians

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Is chocolate the next nutritional powerhouse?

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

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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