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...

If you live around Naples, you know the ground breathes. Streets crack, the harbor silts up, steam curls from the earth, and swarms of small quakes rattle windows. All that action comes from Campi Flegrei, a wide “supervolcano” caldera that last erupted in 1538.



For years, many scientists have read these signals as classic signs of magma on the move. But two recent studies - one in March 2023 and another in May 2025 - have reshaped the picture.



Together, they tell a story that is both sobering and surprisingly hopeful: Campi Flegrei is still dangerous, but some of its most disruptive <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/volcano-eruptions-alerts-shear-wave-signals-discovered-that-could-transform-early-warning-systems/">behavior may be managed</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-studying-campi-flegrei-in-2023">Studying Campi Flegrei in 2023</h2>



The <a href="https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/geology/article/51/4/397/620796/Discriminating-carbon-dioxide-sources-during" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">2023 paper</a> focused on carbon dioxide (CO₂), a gas that volcanoes <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/volcanic-cooling-not-warming-caused-a-major-mass-extinction/">release in large amounts</a>. CO₂ matters because it often increases when magma rises and starts to degas, which can precede eruptions. 



At the Campi Flegrei caldera, CO₂ measurements at the <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/figure/a-Geologic-map-of-the-Solfatara-Pisciarelli-area-from-this-study-UTM-projection_fig2_351100327" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Solfatara-Pisciarelli zone</a> rose during the current unrest (which began in 2005), reaching roughly 4,000-5,000 tons per day - among the highest volcanic CO₂ fluxes on Earth. 



If one looked only at that trend, one might conclude that magma was moving upward and a countdown to an eruption had begun.



The authors investigated further. They examined gases such as nitrogen and helium alongside CO₂ and compared the real data to what their models predicted if magma degassing were the only driver. 



The numbers did not line up. 



Beginning in 2005, the gas ratios drifted away from the “<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/the-sun-affects-magma-formation-deep-within-the-earth/">pure magma</a>” pattern, matching two surface indicators: hydrothermal temperatures and the steady ground uplift known locally as bradyseism.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-where-was-the-gas-coming-from">Where was the gas coming from?</h2>



What was adding CO₂ if not just magma? The 2023 study pointed to a second source: <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/plants-and-trees-predict-volcano-eruptions-when-viewed-from-space-satellites/">the hydrothermal system</a> heating the rocks themselves. 



In plain language, hot, reactive fluids were <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/decarbonation" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">decarbonating calcite</a> (a carbonate-rich mineral) in the shallow reservoir rocks and releasing additional CO₂. The team estimated that this non-magmatic source contributed about 20-40% of total CO₂. 



That finding did not make the volcano harmless - far from it - but it did change how scientists interpret gas alarms.



A spike in CO₂ at Campi Flegrei does not automatically mean magma is surging. Sometimes it means the hydrothermal system is getting hotter and more pressurized, which can still be hazardous but in a different way.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-studying-campi-flegrei-in-2025">Studying Campi Flegrei in 2025</h2>



Fast forward 14 months to May 2025. A second group of scientists <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adt2067" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">published a study</a> that asked a bigger question: what, exactly, is driving the recent bursts of earthquakes and the dramatic rise and fall of the ground? 



They pulled together two major episodes of unrest - 1982-1984 and 2011-2024 - then compared the patterns of uplift, seismicity, and subsurface imaging. 



In the lab, they simulated the rocks above the caldera using a setup like a moka pot, the stovetop espresso maker. 



A heated lower chamber (representing a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/geothermal-energy-is-cheap-and-clean-and-having-its-moment/">geothermal reservoir</a>) pushed fluid into a cracked “lid” made of Campi Flegrei-like materials. The result of all that detective work was a new model with a crucial twist.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/supervolcano_campi-flegrei_location-satellite-view_1m.jpg"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/supervolcano_campi-flegrei_location-satellite-view_1s.webp" alt="Satellite view Phlegraean Fields and Solfatara crater showing a massive caldera supervolcano named Campi Flegrei west of Naples, Italy. It is part of the Campanian volcanic arc, which includes Mount Vesuvius. Credit: Geology" class="wp-image-1982065"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Satellite view Phlegraean Fields and Solfatara crater showing a massive caldera supervolcano named Campi Flegrei west of Naples, Italy. It is part of the Campanian volcanic arc, which includes Mount Vesuvius. Click image to enlarge. Credit: Geology</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-supervolcano-pressure-builds">How supervolcano pressure builds</h2>



The central actor behind the building pressure inside Campi Flegrei is not a blob of rising magma in the upper crust; it is a capped geothermal reservoir sitting beneath the town of Pozzuoli. The caprock above it is fibrous and “self-healing,” which means cracks can seal up quickly. 



When the lid seals, water and steam trapped below it build pressure. Pressure builds until the rocks fracture, the water flashes to steam, producing a burst of shaking and noise - a pattern residents report. 



Interestingly, the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/volcanic-tremors-can-now-be-detected-to-forecast-eruptions/">earthquakes in these sequences</a> tend to start shallow and then deepen over time, which is the opposite of what you would expect if magma or its gases were pushing upward from depth. 



After big episodes, the land actually sinks a bit, consistent with fluids discharging and pressure dropping.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-does-any-of-this-matter">Why does any of this matter?</h2>



Here is the hopeful part. If the main driver of unrest is pressure in a closed, fluid-filled reservoir, then you can manage the fuel. 



You cannot turn off the “burner” heating the system - the deep magmatic heat source - but you can reduce the amount of water available to pressurize the reservoir. 



The researchers propose practical steps: restore and maintain surface-water channels so heavy rains do not funnel into the system; monitor and control <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/groundwater-has-a-vital-role-in-ecosystem-survival/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">groundwater levels</a>; and, where appropriate, relieve pressure by withdrawing fluids through wells. 



Think of it like tending a radiator: keep the system from clogging or overfilling, and bleed off pressure before it blows a gasket.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-campi-flegrei-eruption-risk">Campi Flegrei eruption risk</h2>



What does that mean for eruption risk? It does not mean Campi Flegrei is safe. A <a href="https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/what-is-a-supervolcano.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">supervolcano caldera</a> with Campi Flegrei’s eruptive history still sits atop a large population. Magma is still present at depth. 



The 2023 work showed that the hydrothermal system has been heating and releasing CO₂ in ways that track with ground uplift, while the 2025 work argues that pressure in the sealed geothermal reservoir can trigger swarms of shallow quakes and potentially steam-driven explosions (phreatic blasts). 



Both of those issues can be destructive, even without lava.



The new approach does not “turn off” a magmatic eruption if deep melt intrudes; it aims to prevent or reduce the kind of fluid-pressure crises that have damaged buildings and frightened residents for decades.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-shifting-focus-and-mindset">Shifting focus and mindset</h2>



The key takeaway is a shift in mindset. For decades, <a href="https://www.usgs.gov/observatories/cvo/science/volcano-monitoring" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">volcano monitoring</a> focused on watching and warning: measure gases, track quakes, map ground motion, and be ready to evacuate. That is still essential. 



But if groundwater and surface runoff are a big part of the problem, civil engineers and geoscientists can work together on prevention.



They can unclog centuries-old drainage canals, divert stormwater, measure groundwater levels like a cardiologist tracking blood pressure, and - where science and policy align - use wells as pressure valves. 



None of this is a silver bullet for Campi Flegrei, or anywhere else. It requires careful design, community buy-in, and constant monitoring. 



But this appears to be a rare case in which a supervolcano’s most pressing threat is not an unstoppable magma surge; it is a pressure system that we might learn to regulate.



The full 2023 study was published in the journal <a href="https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/geology/article/51/4/397/620796/Discriminating-carbon-dioxide-sources-during" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Geology</a>.



The full 2025 study was published in the journal <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adt2067" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Science Advances</a>.



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Supervolcano shows signs of waking up, which is not a good thing, but scientists have a plan

If you live around Naples, you know the ground breathes....

Extreme heat pushes the heart to work harder. On humid days, that strain can quickly shift from tolerable to dangerous - and a new analysis shows just how steeply the risk of weather-related heart problems rises.



Researchers in Dhaka, Bangladesh report that the chance of a cardiovascular emergency visit rises sixfold on days that are both extremely <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/astonishing-global-heat-in-january-2025-defied-climate-expectations/">hot</a> and very humid, compared with hot days when the air is much drier.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-humidity-makes-heat-worse">How humidity makes heat worse</h2>



First author Mostafijur Rahman, an assistant professor of environmental health sciences at the Celia Scott Weatherhead School of Public Health (<a href="https://sph.tulane.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">SPH</a>) and Tropical Medicine at <a href="https://sph.tulane.edu/trmd/home" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Tulane</a> University, led the research with collaborators in Bangladesh and the United States.



Humidity matters because sweat must evaporate to cool the body, and water-laden air stalls evaporation. The resulting strain raises body <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/more-heat-cleaner-air-the-surprising-ozone-connection/">temperature</a>, increases skin blood flow, and can load the heart with extra work that some people cannot sustain.



As humidity climbs, the same thermometer reading feels much hotter to the body. That mismatch helps explain why ordinary heat advisories sometimes fail to capture the real risk for people with heart disease.



“These findings show we need to consider heat and humidity together when we discuss any kind of climate change policy,” said Rahman, who noted that the size of the effect surprised the team.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-heart-risks-intensified-by-high-humidity">Heart risks intensified by high humidity</h2>



The researchers counted 340,758 emergency department visits for heart conditions during the hot months from 2014 to 2019 and matched those days to weather records. 



Heat alone raised risk on low humidity days, but risk jumped far higher on the muggiest days when relative humidity exceeded roughly 82 percent.



High heat in the analysis was defined as above 84 degrees Fahrenheit, which raised heart related emergency visits even without intense humidity. There was no separate link between humidity alone and heart emergencies, yet humidity amplified heat <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/extreme-temperatures-are-killing-thousands-across-india/">effects</a> across age and sex groups.



“Hopefully governments will be spurred to develop systems to warn cities of dangerous heat and humidity. We know extreme heat can have a negative health impact, but I never expected such a dramatic increase in risk when high humidity is also factored in,” said Rahman.



The pattern is consistent with clinical experience. When sweat fails to evaporate, the heart must move more blood toward the skin for cooling, while dehydration and electrolyte loss further stress the system.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-humidity-and-public-health-warnings">Humidity and public health warnings</h2>



Hot extremes are becoming more frequent and more intense as the planet warms, and that trend is evident with every additional 0.9 degrees Fahrenheit of global warming, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (<a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/downloads/report/IPCC_AR6_WGI_SPM.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">IPCC</a>).



Independent research also links moist summer air to higher rates of heart, coronary, and stroke hospitalizations in older adults in the United States, even after accounting for temperature. 



A long-term analysis of about 63 million Medicare beneficiaries found higher cardiovascular hospitalization risks with higher summer-specific humidity.



Laboratory and field <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10231239/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">studies</a> add biological context. They show that humid heat undermines sweat evaporation and raises the physiologic load on the heart, validating the Dhaka pattern.



These threads point to one conclusion. Health systems and public warnings need to treat humidity as a co-equal driver of heat danger, not just a background variable.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-access-to-cooling-matters">Access to cooling matters</h2>



Dhaka’s results are particularly relevant in places where home air conditioning is rare. Recent national survey <a href="https://www.seforall.org/taxonomy/term/38" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reporting</a> in Bangladesh shows that only about 2.28 percent of households owned an air conditioner in 2023, a small rise from 1.6 percent in 2021.



Global analyses identify Bangladesh among countries with large populations at high risk due to a lack of access to affordable, sustainable cooling. Those gaps create exposure that individuals cannot easily avoid during multi day hot spells.



“There are billions around the world, from Southeast Asia to Africa, who are directly impacted by rising temperatures but have little access to air conditioning,” said Rahman. 



Equity is central here. The people least able to afford cooling often live and work in buildings and neighborhoods that trap heat, and they may have the most to lose from heart strain.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-adapting-to-heat-and-humidity">Adapting to heat and humidity</h2>



Clinicians already flag combined heat and humidity as a risk for people with heart disease, heart failure, high blood pressure, prior stroke, and older age. 



Public guidance now acknowledges that humid heat can drive blood pressure swings and raise hospitalizations for those with cardiovascular conditions.



City agencies should tune heat warnings to humidity, not just temperature thresholds. Emergency managers could extend hours for cooling centers, stagger outdoor work schedules, and coordinate hydration and medication checks with community groups.



Individuals should plan around the weather forecast on humid <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/earth-is-just-three-years-away-from-dangerous-carbon-milestone/">hot</a> days. Small steps such as shortening exertion, spacing outdoor tasks, and favoring shaded or air conditioned spaces can spare the heart avoidable stress.



Health systems can prepare for surges. Hospitals and ambulance services can adjust staffing based on heat and humidity forecasts, which now provide advance warning of the most extreme events.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-heart-risks-of-humidity-are-clear">Heart risks of humidity are clear</h2>



The Dhaka study is observational, and it uses outdoor weather to represent exposure, which cannot capture every indoor environment or personal behavior. 



Even so, the same day link between humid heat and heart emergencies aligns with physiology and persisted across sensitivity tests in the analysis.



Public agencies should incorporate humidity explicitly in heat alert systems. Common composites such as the <a href="https://journals.ametsoc.org/view/journals/apme/61/10/JAMC-D-22-0021.1.xml" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">heat index</a> were not designed for extreme combinations of temperature and humidity, and updated methods could improve their performance.



The Dhaka data highlight a simple truth: on hot, muggy days, the heart works overtime, and treating humidity as a key hazard in planning can save lives.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969725018601?via%3Dihub" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Science of The Total Environment</a>.



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Extreme heat and humidity sharply raise heart risks

Extreme heat pushes the heart to work harder. On humid...

River otters have roamed the shores and inlets of Chesapeake Bay for a long time. But there’s still a lot we don’t know about how they interact with their environment. What do they eat? Where do they hang out? And oddly enough - where do they go to the bathroom?



To answer these questions, researchers in Maryland spent nearly a year observing river otters and collecting data on their habits. 



The team, based at the <a href="https://serc.si.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Smithsonian Environmental Research Center</a> (SERC), analyzed scat samples and habitat use to better understand the otters’ diet, behavior, and exposure to parasites.



Study senior author Dr. Katrina Lohan is a parasite ecologist and head of the Coastal Disease Ecology Laboratory at SERC.



“River otters in the Chesapeake Bay eat a wide range of animals, including those that live in the water and on land. <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/parasites-help-worker-ants-live-much-longer-lives/">Parasites</a>, too, are crucial parts of their diet,” said Dr. Lohan. "We also found that river otters use manmade structures for latrines or choose areas with specific characteristics.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-otter-poop-on-the-dock">Otter poop on the dock</h2>



It all started with an email. A colleague spotted some odd, watery scat on a dock and sent a message to Dr. Lohan. Inside the scat was a bright red worm. 



Cameras later confirmed that the dock had become a favorite toilet spot for a local river otter. This was the beginning of a full-scale study.



Graduate researcher Calli Wise took the lead on collecting samples. Over 11 months, she gathered scat from 18 active otter latrines. On average, each latrine held about 28 scat piles.



“Scats usually smelled strongly of fish and were full of scales or <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/new-invasive-crustacean-species-discovered-in-the-mediterranean/">crustacean</a> shells,” Wise said. “We wore gloves and used sterile tools and tubes to collect scat samples, to avoid contamination with other DNA.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-otter-toilets-are-social-hotspots">Otter toilets are social hotspots</h2>



The latrines aren’t just toilets. Otters use them to mark territory with urine and feces, but they’re also social spaces. 



Otters gather there to eat, play, and rest. The latrines often show signs of repeated use: flattened grass, worn vegetation, and nearby cover.



Most were located near the shoreline. The researchers found that otters liked areas with woody debris and easy access to the water. 



Some latrines stood out. Five were found directly on man-made features like docks, boardwalks, or stairs leading to the water.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-the-otter-poop-reveals">What the otter poop reveals</h2>



The team used two main methods to analyze the samples: metabarcoding, which identifies DNA fragments, and traditional microscopy. Both approaches helped piece together what the otters had been eating - and what else they might be spreading.



“We collected most scats in the summer, when river otter diet is likely diverse,” Wise said. “We found evidence of invasive species like common carp and white river <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/bright-coloration-in-crayfish-does-not-serve-an-evolutionary-purpose/">crayfish</a> in river otters’ diet.”



The otters also ate American blue crabs, other fish, and crustaceans. Occasionally, they even consumed <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-ducks-balance-water-pressure-while-diving/">ducks</a> or <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/over-40-of-amphibians-face-extinction-due-to-escalating-climate-threats/">amphibians</a>.



But diet was just one layer. The scat also showed which parasites the otters were exposed to - either through their prey or directly. Most parasites infected teleost fish, the primary type of fish eaten by otters. A few may have infected the otters themselves.



“It is possible that river otters, like other top predators, wouldn’t be able to find enough food to eat without parasites,” noted Dr. Lohan.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-parasites-might-be-a-good-thing">Why parasites might be a good thing</h2>



The researchers couldn’t identify every parasite. Gaps in DNA databases made some sequences impossible to match. They also couldn’t link poop to specific otters, so individual diets remain a mystery.



Still, the findings suggest otters might be playing an even bigger role in the ecosystem than we thought.



“Since so many of the parasites are actually infecting otters’ prey, it could mean that river otters are culling sick individuals from the populations they are preying upon,” explained Dr. Lohan.



Removing infected animals could reduce the spread of disease and even affect the gene pool of prey species. Sick animals don’t get to reproduce if they’re eaten. There’s also a potential connection to human health.



“Some of the parasites that infect river otters could potentially also infect humans, who also are mammals,” said Dr. Lohan. “Thus, we could use river otters as ‘disease sentinels,’ and study them to learn about what public health threats occur in certain areas.”



This study opens new questions about how river otters influence, and are influenced by, their environment. Their poop tells stories about what they eat, where they go, what parasites they host, and what role they might play in managing disease in coastal ecosystems.



And in Chesapeake Bay, it turns out those stories often start at a latrine - sometimes even on a dock.



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/mammal-science/articles/10.3389/fmamm.2025.1620318/full">Frontiers in Mammal Science</a>.



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What river otter poop reveals about life in Chesapeake Bay

River otters have roamed the shores and inlets of Chesapeake...

Sometimes, a white dwarf isn’t just a white dwarf. What seems ordinary at first glance can have a much more dramatic origin. That’s what astronomers discovered when they took a closer look at a star called WD 0525+526.



This compact, Earth-sized star appeared to be typical - but it wasn’t. Scientists found that it’s actually the aftermath of a stellar collision: two stars that crashed together and merged into one.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-white-dwarf-with-a-violent-history">White dwarf with a violent history </h2>



White dwarfs mark the final stage of life for stars like our Sun. These stellar remnants are incredibly compact. One can pack more mass than the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/team-creates-video-showing-the-sun-in-gamma-rays-over-a-14-year-period/">Sun</a> into a body no bigger than our planet. Most white dwarfs are born when a single star burns through its fuel and collapses.



But there’s another, rarer path. Sometimes two stars - often in a close <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/first-binary-star-system-d9-found-near-supermassive-black-hole-sagittarius-a-milky-way/">binary system</a> - collide and merge. The result is an ultra-massive white dwarf. That’s what happened with WD 0525+526, and this is the first time scientists have confirmed a merger origin based on ultraviolet evidence.



“It's a discovery that underlines things may be different from what they appear to us at first glance,” said Boris Gaensicke, principal investigator of the Hubble program at the <a href="https://warwick.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Warwick</a>. 



“Until now, this appeared as a normal white dwarf, but Hubble's ultraviolet vision revealed that it had a very different history from what we would have guessed.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-white-dwarf-transformed-by-a-merger">White dwarf transformed by a merger </h2>



Located 128 light-years from Earth, WD 0525+526 is 20% more massive than the Sun. Visually, it looks like any other white dwarf. But scientists used NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope and its ultraviolet capabilities to peer deeper into the star’s composition.



<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/nyWuLSIoosk?si=LgE0ox4Vv6Ojgx-Q
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Astronomers using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope have found a rare ultra massive white dwarf formed from a stellar merger.</figcaption></figure>



The ultraviolet spectrum revealed something unexpected: <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/webb-finds-largest-amount-of-carbon-ever-seen-in-a-planet-forming-disk/">carbon</a> in the star’s atmosphere. Normally, white dwarfs formed from a single star have atmospheres made up of hydrogen and helium. Their carbon and oxygen are buried in the core, hidden under thick atmospheric layers.



Mergers, however, change the outcome. When two white dwarfs - or one and another type of star - crash into each other, the resulting explosion can strip away much of that outer hydrogen and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/global-helium-supply-running-low-race-is-on-to-prevent-the-next-shortage/">helium</a>. What’s left is a thinner atmosphere, where carbon can leak up from the core and become visible.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-detecting-carbon-in-the-star-s-atmosphere">Detecting carbon in the star's atmosphere</h2>



WD 0525+526 is hotter and more massive than the handful of other known merger-born white dwarfs. At nearly 21,000 kelvins (around 37,000 degrees Fahrenheit), it’s too hot for convection - the usual process that stirs carbon up into a white dwarf’s outer layers.



So how did the carbon get there? The researchers think a more subtle mechanism called semi-convection is at play. It’s a gentler process, but still powerful enough to pull a small trace of carbon to the surface.



What’s truly remarkable is how little carbon is in this star’s atmosphere - about 100,000 times less than what’s been observed in other merger remnants. This made it nearly impossible to spot without the right tools.



“Hubble's Cosmic Origins Spectrograph is the only instrument that can obtain the superb quality ultraviolet spectroscopy that was required to detect the carbon in the atmosphere of this white dwarf,” said study lead author Snehalata Sahu from the University of Warwick.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-hidden-white-dwarf-mergers">Hidden white dwarf mergers </h2>



The discovery builds on a 2019 study using ESA’s <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/gaia-reveals-moons-around-hundreds-of-asteroids/">Gaia mission</a>, which identified a group of unusually blue white dwarfs. Some of those were later confirmed as the products of mergers. WD 0525+526 is now the hottest and most massive member of that group.



Because carbon in ultra-hot white dwarfs is easier to detect in ultraviolet than visible light, it’s possible many more of these cosmic collision survivors are out there - hiding in the data, waiting to be found.



“We would like to extend our research on this topic by exploring how common carbon white dwarfs are among similar white dwarfs, and how many stellar mergers are hiding among the normal white dwarf family,” said study co-author Antoine Bedrad.



“That will be an important contribution to our understanding of white dwarf binaries, and the pathways to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/the-true-nature-of-dark-matter-may-be-revealed-in-a-supernova/">supernova</a> explosions.”



The research is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-025-02590-y" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature Astronomy</a>.



Image Credit: NASA, ESA, STScI, Ralf Crawford (STScI)



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Hubble spots a white dwarf created in a violent star collision

Sometimes, a white dwarf isn’t just a white dwarf. What...

On May 12, 2008, central China was hit by one of the deadliest earthquakes in recent memory. The magnitude 7.9 Wenchuan Earthquake struck along the edge of the Tibetan Plateau, triggering violent landslides across the steep slopes of the Longmen Shan - known as the Dragon’s Gate Mountains.



The disaster killed more than 69,000 people, but nearly a third of those deaths weren't from shaking alone. They came from geohazards - including more than 60,000 landslides that came tumbling down the mountains in the hours and days that followed.



Now, after nearly two decades of research, scientists at <a href="https://www.ucsb.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">UC Santa Barbara</a> and the University of Southern California say the story of that earthquake still isn’t over. Their recent study shows that the debris shaken loose by the quake is still working its way through the region’s rivers. 



The team tracked how sediment surged into the Min River and how it changed the river’s behavior - possibly for decades. And their work could help answer a deeper question: Do earthquakes build mountains, or wear them down?



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-river-loaded-with-debris">A river loaded with debris</h2>



When the quake hit, millions of tons of rock and soil collapsed into nearby streams. Much of it ended up in the Min River, which runs through the Longmen Mountains. The river became a conveyor belt for that debris.



Geologists call this "<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/rivers-show-widespread-change-from-human-activity/">sediment flux</a>" - the amount of material a river carries. It shows up in two forms. The first is suspended sediment, fine particles carried in the water, easy to measure. The second is bedload - coarser stuff like gravel and boulders that roll or bounce along the bottom. That’s harder to track.



“Before our work, people mostly focused on the sediment of very fine size,” said Gen Li, an assistant professor in UC Santa Barbara’s Department of Earth Science.



Suspended sediment is routinely measured by agencies around the world. But bedload? That’s trickier. You can’t collect it with a bottle. And during an event like the Wenchuan Earthquake, there's suddenly a lot of it.



Scientists have long suspected that this surge in bedload plays a big role in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mega-tsunamis-triggered-by-earthquakes-could-wipe-part-of-us-off-the-map/">post-quake flooding</a>. The idea is simple: if a riverbed fills with debris, the channel gets shallower. Then, when a flood comes, it spills over more easily. But proving this has been a challenge.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-a-dam-became-a-natural-lab">How a dam became a natural lab</h2>



Back in 2001, the Sichuan Provincial Electric Power Company started building the Zipingpu Dam. By 2006, the reservoir began filling, just 20 kilometers downstream from where the Wenchuan Earthquake would later strike. It was an unintentional stroke of luck for science.



That dam turned into the perfect sediment trap. Shortly after the quake, Li and his collaborators - including researchers from the <a href="http://www.cjh.com.cn/eng/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Chinese Bureau of Hydrology</a> - began surveying it.



Daily data already existed for suspended sediment. What the scientists needed was the rest of the picture. They set out, year after year, using sonar to map the floor of the reservoir. 



Each expedition added a new layer to their data. Over time, they could measure how much total sediment had built up. From there, they did the math. Total sediment minus suspended sediment equals bedload.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-when-earthquake-effects-last-a-decade">When earthquake effects last a decade</h2>



After the quake, the amount of total sediment in the Min River grew sixfold. But the real shock came with the bedload, which had increased 20 times. That is not normal. Bedload usually makes up about 20% of sediment in a mountain river. Here, it made up 65 percent.



The result didn’t surprise co-author Josh West. He had suspected that sediment flux would spike after a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/can-we-detect-major-earthquakes-months-in-advance/">major earthquake</a>, especially in the form of increased bedload.



What did surprise the team was how long it lasted. The elevated sediment flow didn’t return to normal after a few years. It stayed high for at least a decade.



“In fact, from the data we’ve collected so far, there’s no evidence yet of the total sediment flux declining back to background levels,” West said.



“Usually, we think the influence from earthquakes may last, at most, a few years after the main shock,” said Professor Li. “But this data shows that this is not true.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-earthquakes-set-off-a-chain-reaction">Earthquakes set off a chain reaction </h2>



The study adds weight to a growing idea among scientists: the danger from <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/natural-disasters-are-on-the-rise-but-hazard-plans-are-inadequate/">natural disasters</a> doesn’t stop once the main event ends. Earthquakes can set off a chain reaction. One disaster leads to another.



“Earthquake-triggered landslides are a great example,” West said. “As we prepare for natural disasters, we often think of them as being discrete events. But what’s left out of that is the longer tail that follows.”



In other words, rebuilding too quickly - or rebuilding in the same way, in the same place - can be risky. The land has changed. Riverbeds are higher and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/earthquakes-and-flood-zones-hidden-risks-in-the-pacific-northwest/">flood zones</a> are different. What was once a safe 10-year floodplain may now be a ticking time bomb.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-do-earthquakes-build-mountains">Do earthquakes build mountains?</h2>



Earthquakes are thought to push up mountain ranges. But they also cause <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/landslide-predictions-could-become-94-percent-more-accurate/">landslides</a> that scrape them back down. So which effect wins?



Professor Li looked into this in an earlier study. He used satellite images to estimate that the Wenchuan Earthquake caused about three cubic kilometers of material to slide off the Longmen Mountains. “That is around half of the sediment flux of all the rivers in the world over one year,” he said.



Li also looked at how much rock the quake pushed upward. Turns out, it was about the same. That means the quake may have added and removed equal amounts of mass. Whether the mountain grows or shrinks depends on what happens next.



If the river can carry all that debris away quickly, the mountain stays tall. If the debris piles up and clogs the system, the mountain starts to erode. So far, the Min River has flushed out about 10% of the landslide debris over ten years.



“The fact that the pace was sustained for ten years was a surprise on its own,” West said. But predicting what happens in the next few decades is harder. Watersheds evolve and landscapes shift. The balance is fragile.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-many-questions-remain">Many questions remain</h2>



Professor Li is now investigating why this particular river carried so much bedload. The 2015 Gorkha Earthquake in Nepal, for instance, didn’t trigger the same kind of sediment surge in Himalayan rivers. This suggests other factors are at play.



The rock itself might be the key. Its type, texture, and how it breaks apart all affect how much debris a quake generates. The size of the grains also matters. And how those grains move downstream is still being modeled.



Li’s team is now studying these patterns in more detail - using field data and computer models to understand how sediment flows over time.



“It’s very satisfying to have been able to quantify something that we’ve struggled to quantify before and that has a wide range of relevance, from hazards to long-term consequences for understanding the evolution of topography over long periods of time," said West.



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09354-8" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature</a>.



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How earthquakes move mountains - and what comes next

On May 12, 2008, central China was hit by one...

North American monarch butterflies do not use Earth’s magnetic field as a map to find Mexico. They use it as a compass to hold a heading, and cold temperatures later flip that compass for the return trip north.



In lab tests that mimicked different locations relative to their overwintering sites, fall migrants kept pointing toward the equator under every magnetic setting. 



After a 24 day chill, roughly 52ºF days and 39ºF nights, the same <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/butterfly-populations-are-disappearing-and-its-happening-fast/">butterflies</a> switched to a poleward heading, while controls kept aiming south.



A group of scientists in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Cincinnati (<a href="https://www.artsci.uc.edu/natural-sciences/biological-sciences.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">UC</a>) collaborated on the research 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-monarch-compass-navigation">Monarch compass navigation</h2>



The team used a righting response setup inside a Helmholtz coil system, which generates controlled Earth-strength magnetic fields.



The butterflies oriented on a vertical mesh after righting themselves, giving clear headings without relying on visual landmarks.



The team tested three field conditions: locations about three days’ flight south of the overwintering sites, the overwintering sites themselves, and locations three days’ flight north. They then recorded the butterflies’ preferred direction.



The magnetic parameter that acts like latitude is inclination - the angle at which magnetic field lines enter the ground. It becomes steeper toward the poles.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cold-triggers-migration-change">Cold triggers migration change</h2>



“Our discovery that coldness triggers the northward flight direction in spring remigrants solves one of the long-standing mysteries of the monarch migration,” wrote Patrick A. Guerra, who led the study.



A decade ago, researchers showed that winter cold flips the monarch’s time-compensated sun compass, turning a fall southbound program into a spring northbound one.&nbsp;



The new study extends that logic to the magnetic system. Fall migrants chilled for 24 days under overwintering-like temperatures reversed their magnetic headings to poleward, while <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/butterfly-species-are-declining-fast-across-the-united-states/">monarchs</a> held at fall temperatures did not.



This points to temperature as a shared recalibration signal across compass systems. It also raises a practical question: how warm can the overwintering microclimate get before this switch fails to flip on schedule.



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



Rising winter temperatures in central Mexico could interfere with the recalibration process by preventing monarchs from experiencing the consistent cold needed to reset their orientation systems. 



Without this signal, they might depart on their spring migration still heading equatorward, wasting critical time and energy reserves.



Conservation strategies may need to account not only for preserving habitat but also for maintaining the microclimate stability of overwintering sites. 



Protecting forest canopy cover, limiting deforestation, and monitoring local weather trends could help ensure that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/butterflies-can-adapt-quickly-but-evolution-has-its-limits/">monarchs</a> continue to receive the environmental cues they depend on for successful migration cycles.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-compass-not-a-map">A compass, not a map</h2>



Several animals use geomagnetic information in two ways, as a compass for direction and as a map for position. 



Tests of fall monarchs have found no evidence that they possess a fine-scale magnetic map that could guide them to a specific Mexican mountain forest.



By contrast, some species do form magnetic maps that help them correct course or home to precise destinations. 



Evidence spans hatchling and adult sea turtles and at least some birds, where animals learn or inherit positional signatures in the field.



Monarchs likely lean on other cues to decide when to stop, including the cool, moist microclimate of oyamel fir forests at roughly 8,000 to 12,000 feet and consistent humidity in those groves. 



Those conditions bracket temperatures close to freezing up to about 59ºF, which help insects conserve energy until spring.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-monarch-compass-works-without-sun">Monarch compass works without sun</h2>



“We now show that migratory monarch butterflies have an inclination magnetic compass that allows them to orient in the proper southern direction during the fall migration,” reported Guerra and colleagues. 



When the sun’s position is clear, monarchs use their sun compass. On overcast days, they can still stay on course with a light-dependent magnetic compass.&nbsp;



Recent genetics and neurobiology work has shown that the cryptochrome 1, a UV-A/blue-light sensitive protein, is essential to this magnetosensory response. Both antennae and eyes appear to serve as magnetosensory organs in this context.



Directional and timing cues are integrated in the brain’s central complex, a midline hub that combines skylight and clock information for orientation. Reviews of monarch neurobiology place this circuit at the center of migratory control.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-travel-speed-and-timing">Travel speed and timing</h2>



Monarchs do not sprint to Mexico. Typical progress averages about 25 to 30 miles per day in reasonable weather, and it can stall or surge with changing winds.



Telemetry studies capture faster days under strong assistance, with a radio-tracked <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/a-country-without-butterflies-rapid-decline-in-u-s-populations/">monarch</a> covering about 89 miles in a single day. 



Temperature and wind together pushed that pace, demonstrating how sensitive the journey is to weather.



That sensitivity extends to winter. Federal assessments warn that changes to the oyamel fir belt, through logging and climate warming, threaten the microclimate that monarchs rely on to survive and to trigger their spring reorientation.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0328737" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">PLOS ONE</a>.



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Monarch butterflies have a built-in compass that flips when it's cold, disrupting migration

North American monarch butterflies do not use Earth’s magnetic field...

Tooth decay is the most common health condition in permanent teeth worldwide, and many adults feel it each time a sip of cold water stings.



A new <a href="https://advanced.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/adhm.202502465" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">study</a> suggests toothpaste made from keratin could help protect <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/natures-toughest-teeth-inspire-next-generation-materials/">teeth</a> by guiding an enamel-like shield to form on worn surfaces, moving beyond patchwork fixes.



Lead author <a href="https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/en/persons/sara-gamea" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Sara Gamea</a> and senior author <a href="https://www.kcl.ac.uk/people/sherif-elsharkawy" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Dr. Sherif Elsharkawy</a> are based at King’s College London (<a href="https://www.kcl.ac.uk/people/sherif-elsharkawy" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">KCL</a>), in the Faculty of Dentistry, Oral and Craniofacial Sciences.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-hair-protein-for-tooth-repair">Hair protein for tooth repair</h2>



<a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8052392/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Keratin</a> is a structural protein that is abundant in hair and wool, and it can be extracted and processed into films, hydrogels, and scaffolds for biomedical use.



The new work leans on <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4226000/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">biomineralization</a>, the natural process by which tissues organize minerals such as hydroxyapatite crystals to gain hardness and resilience, a long-standing challenge for true <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-successfully-grow-human-teeth-in-a-laboratory-for-the-first-time/">enamel</a> repair.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-testing-keratin-toothpaste">Testing keratin toothpaste</h2>



The team made water-based keratin films that self-assemble, then tested whether these templates could organize calcium and phosphate from saliva-like solutions into ordered, enamel-like minerals.



In lab models of early <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10775501/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">white spot lesions</a>, the keratin infiltrated porous enamel and supported the growth of tightly integrated crystals that restored appearance and improved mechanical properties without drilling.



The authors describe two practical delivery forms, a daily toothpaste for broad use and a professional gel for targeted spots, and note that first consumer <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/4000-year-old-teeth-reveal-the-oldest-evidence-of-betel-nut-chewing/">products</a> could be feasible within two to three years if development proceeds smoothly.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-comparing-keratin-to-current-options">Comparing keratin to current options</h2>



Fluoride toothpastes reduce the risk of cavities compared with non-fluoride formulas, and higher concentrations show a dose-response in children and adolescents.



But fluoride alone cannot rebuild missing minerals where the surface has already opened up.



This is why dentists sometimes turn to <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9100225/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">resin infiltration</a>, a plastic-based approach that can seal pores yet releases trace monomers and by-products with measurable cytotoxic potential in laboratory systems.



Composite <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25048250/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">restorations</a> also carry failure risks over time, with secondary caries and fracture among the main reasons that drive replacement in long-term studies.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-could-affect-its-use">What could affect its use</h2>



Even with promising lab results, market adoption will depend on whether keratin-based toothpaste can match the price and convenience of standard products. 



Large-scale production from hair or wool waste will require streamlined collection, processing, and quality control systems to make it cost-effective for daily consumer use.



Public perception may also influence uptake. While some may welcome a natural, sustainable ingredient, others could hesitate at the idea of a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/what-happens-to-our-teeth-as-we-age-new-details-have-emerged/">dental</a> product derived from hair. 



Clear education campaigns and transparent sourcing will be important to build trust and encourage widespread acceptance.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-from-waste-to-wearables-for-teeth">From waste to wearables for teeth</h2>



Hair and wool are plentiful waste streams, and keratin extracted from them has been moving into wound dressings, tissue scaffolds, and drug delivery, a good match for circular, low-impact materials in healthcare.



“Keratin offers a transformative alternative to current dental treatments," Gamea explained. 



"Not only is it sustainably sourced from biological waste materials like hair and skin, it also eliminates the need for traditional plastic resins, commonly used in restorative dentistry, which are toxic and less durable."



If the keratin platform can be manufactured consistently, it could reduce reliance on petroleum-derived resins for some indications, while better matching tooth color and light scatter for a subtler look.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-safety-of-keratin-toothpaste">Safety of keratin toothpaste</h2>



Before keratin-based toothpaste can reach consumers, it must pass through regulatory review to ensure both safety and efficacy. 



In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration (<a href="https://www.congress.gov/crs_external_products/R/PDF/R42594/R42594.5.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">FDA</a>) would likely require it to be evaluated as an over-the-counter drug or medical device, depending on claims and formulation, which involves rigorous preclinical data, human trials, and manufacturing quality checks. 



Similar processes apply in the European Union, where approval would require conformity to Medical Device Regulation <a href="https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/device-advice-comprehensive-regulatory-assistance/overview-device-regulation" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">standards</a>. 



Toxicology assessments will need to confirm that keratin derived from hair or wool is free of harmful contaminants and does not trigger allergic reactions. 



Long-term wear studies will also be important to ensure that mineral layers formed on the enamel remain stable and do not flake or stain. 



These steps will help confirm that the product is not only innovative but also safe and reliable for daily use.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-when-to-buy-keratin-toothpaste">When to buy keratin toothpaste</h2>



Keratin biomaterials already <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32322760/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">show</a> encouraging biocompatibility in areas like wound healing and tissue engineering, which helps the case for oral use, though dental products will still need rigorous safety, wear, and flavor testing before approval.



If trials confirm durable protection and relief from sensitivity in real mouths, the first wave may target early lesions and post-whitening sensitivity, with daily toothpaste following as manufacturing scales.



The study is published in <a href="https://advanced.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/adhm.202502465" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Advanced Healthcare Materials</a>.



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Toothpaste made from hair helps rebuild damaged tooth enamel

Tooth decay is the most common health condition in permanent...

People who live near active volcanoes need alerts they can trust. False alarms wear down that trust, while missed warnings put lives at risk. Steam-driven blasts, which can erupt with few surface signs, are especially hard to predict.



Scientists are testing a signal within <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/650-foot-mega-tsunami-sends-seismic-waves-around-world-dickson-fjord-swot-mission/">earthquake waves</a> called shear-wave splitting that may help. When seismic shear waves cross cracked, stressed rock, they separate into two directions: one faster and one slower. 



Tracking the magnitude of that split and the direction of the fast wave reveals how cracks are aligned and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/supervolcano-campi-flegrei-naples-italy-solfatara-crater-phlegraean-fields-signs-of-waking-up/">how stress changes over time</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-measuring-shear-wave-signals">Measuring shear-wave signals</h2>



Shear-wave splitting rises when cracks open in a preferred direction. It stays low when cracks are scattered or stress doesn’t change much. 



This makes the signal useful for spotting shifts in a volcano’s <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/plants-and-trees-predict-volcano-eruptions-when-viewed-from-space-satellites/">hydrothermal system</a>, where hot water and steam move through fractured rock. 



At <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Ontake" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Mount Ontake</a> in Japan, researchers installed 12 stations to monitor these changes.



A team of scientists, led by Professor Mike Kendall from the Department of Earth Sciences at <a href="https://www.earth.ox.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Oxford University</a>, set out to test whether larger stress changes during an explosive eruption would cause a larger increase in splitting than during a small event.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-the-study-learned">What the study learned</h2>



"Seismic anisotropy - or the effect of rock composition and internal fractures on the speed of shear-waves oscillating at right angles to each other - is a well-documented phenomenon," Kendall explained. 



"When we reflected on how anisotropy increases as the pressure inside a volcano builds, we were excited to explore if we could detect these changes, and if this could be a distinctive signal which could be applied to early warning systems."



Kendall and his team compared earthquake signals from Mount Ontake’s 2007 and 2014 eruptions and found that shear-wave splitting parameters varied with eruption size.



In 2007, during a small steam-driven eruption, the splitting pattern held steady.



In 2014, during a <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/2016JB013739" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">larger eruption</a>, the delay between fast and slow waves doubled, anisotropy rose from about 3% to 20%, and the fast-wave direction rotated to align with the maximum stress in the region.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-shear-wave-splitting-signal-strength">Shear-wave splitting signal strength</h2>



Their work argues that heating at the base of the hydrothermal system increased cracking and stress before the 2014 blast, pushing the volcano past a threshold that the smaller 2007 event never reached.



They hoped to identify a practical parameter that could flag whether an <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/plants-and-trees-predict-volcano-eruptions-when-viewed-from-space-satellites/">eruption was imminent</a> and whether it might be more damaging. 



Because the splitting changes appeared before the eruption began, the parameter can function as both an early alert and a rough indicator of severity.



"The focal mechanisms of volcano-tectonic earthquakes changed drastically before and after the 2014 eruption," noted Professor Toshiko Terakawa, co-author of the study from <a href="https://en.nagoya-u.ac.jp/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nagoya University</a>. 



"Integrating data from shear-wave splitting and earthquake focal mechanisms could provide deeper insights into conditions required for an eruption to occur."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-tale-of-two-eruptions">A tale of two eruptions</h2>



The 2007 Ontake eruption was small and had far less impact on nearby communities, while the 2014 eruption was much larger and explosive. 



Taken together, the observations suggest a link between eruption size and the strength of the splitting signal.



"The records around two eruptions on Ontake volcano in Japan have been able to show that the method can not only show changes before eruptions, but that they can potentially help to predict the size of an eruption," added co-author Professor Martha Savage of <a href="https://www.wgtn.ac.nz/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Victoria University of Wellington</a>.



"This work was an example of how cooperation among people from around the globe can address important societal problems."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-shear-wave-signals-and-future-safety">Shear-wave signals and future safety</h2>



This study shows how a threshold in stress and cracking can mark the difference between a minor event and a dangerous one, offering a practical way to sharpen alerts.



"We expect to see these effects at other volcanoes across the globe, not just at Ontake Volcano," said Dr. Tom Kettlety, also from the Department of Earth Sciences at Oxford. 



"As changes in volcanic stress occur <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/can-a-volcano-be-stopped-before-it-erupts-to-give-ample-warning-to-citizens/">prior to an eruption</a>, we anticipate that we would see changes in shear-wave splitting. This could be a valuable tool for early warning of volcanic eruptions, especially for local communities," Kettlety concluded.



For people living near volcanoes, early warning systems are a lifeline, and trust matters. 



Reducing false alarms requires tools that respond clearly to real changes within a volcano, and shear-wave splitting signal detection instruments may be the solution.



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://seismica.library.mcgill.ca/article/view/1101" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Seismica</a>.



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Volcano alert: Scientists discover a signal that could transform early warning systems

People who live near active volcanoes need alerts they can...

Scientists have now mapped the complete set of chromosomes for the African sweet potato variety “Tanzania,” revealing that it arose from a mix of a wild Ecuadorian species and a Central American relative.



The achievement sheds light on the tangled origins of one of the world’s most important crops - an essential food for millions and a cornerstone of food security and biofortification efforts.



Unlike humans, who carry two sets of chromosomes, the sweet potato holds six. That genetic complexity makes its DNA unusually difficult to untangle and has long slowed efforts to breed improved sweet potato <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ai-deciphers-plant-dna-a-breakthrough-that-will-transform-agriculture/">varieties</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-sweet-potato-dna-is-tricky">Sweet potato DNA is tricky</h2>



The study was led by Professor Zhangjun Fei at the Boyce Thompson Institute (<a href="https://btiscience.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">BTI</a>) in Ithaca, New York. His team specializes in building genomic resources that shorten the path from trait to gene for crops.



That complexity starts with hexaploidy - the condition of carrying six complete sets of chromosomes. It forces researchers to keep track of similar copies while avoiding false merges that blur meaningful differences.



To do that, the authors resolved each haplotype, the specific sequence carried on each chromosome copy. They also kept those copies separate through phasing, which prevents the common problem of averaging signals across distinct genomes.



Working on “Tanzania,” an African cultivar widely used by <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/altering-rice-dna-improves-its-growth-rate-and-could-end-world-hunger/">breeders</a>, the group assembled chromosome-scale sequences for all six genome copies. That gives a clean scaffold for downstream population studies and trait mapping.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-all-90-chromosomes-mapped">All 90 chromosomes mapped</h2>



The new assembly spans all 90 chromosomes, with each homolog distinguished rather than collapsed. It offers a reference that finally matches the biological reality of a six-copy genome.



“The sequences contributed by different wild species are not distributed in typical subgenomes but are intertwined along chromosomes, possibly owing to the known non-preferential recombination among sweetpotato haplotypes,” wrote Shan Wu, the study’s first author.



Wu’s description matches the team’s phased maps and explains why earlier models struggled to cleanly separate ancestral blocks.



This pattern differs from crops like bread wheat where ancestral contributions often line up in larger, more discrete blocks. In the sweet potato, chromosomes mix in a fine-grained pattern.



That intertwined layout matters because trait loci can sit on segments from different ancestors - even within a single chromosome. Selection will need that context to avoid dragging along unwanted <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/plants-gain-defense-against-a-devastating-crop-disease-with-a-small-dna-tweak/">variants</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tracing-the-sweet-potato-s-wild-origins">Tracing the sweet potato’s wild origins</h2>



A sizable share of the genome traces to Ipomoea aequatoriensis, a wild tetraploid from coastal Ecuador that was formally described in 2022. That discovery filled a key gap between diploid relatives and the cultivated hexaploid.



Another large portion aligns with a Central American wild relative often referred to as I. batatas 4x. The precise donor may still be unsampled in the wild, which keeps exploration active across Mesoamerica.



Together, these data explain how a hexaploid crop could arise through hybridization and subsequent recombination. The history is written in small, alternating tracts rather than continent-sized blocks.



That mosaic signature should help breeders link trait variation to its ancestral source. Breeders can now hunt for disease resistance, quality, and adaptation using that geographic and evolutionary context.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-sweet-potato-dna-is-finely-mixed">Sweet potato DNA is finely mixed</h2>



The authors interpret the new evidence as consistent with a segmental allopolyploid, a system where parts of the genome behave like an allopolyploid while others retain autopolyploid-like mixing. It is a label that accounts for the observed interweaving across haplotypes.



In practice, that means selection and recombination can shuffle segments among homeologous chromosomes after the initial hybrid forms. Over time, those shuffles can complicate neat boundaries between ancestral <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-manage-to-grow-plants-from-ancient-seeds-that-are-2000-years-old/">genomes</a>.



The sweet potato map shows just how pervasive that shuffling has been. It also sets the stage for tracking which exchanges correlate with yield, quality, or resilience.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-multiple-genomes-stronger-crop">Multiple genomes, stronger crop</h2>



The sweet potato’s status as a polyploid can buffer deleterious mutations through extra gene copies. Redundant copies sometimes pick up changes that help the plant tolerate stress or pathogens.



Experimental and comparative studies support the link between polyploidy and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/plants-have-a-secret-weapon-for-surviving-stress/">stress tolerance</a>, adaptation, and survival under harsh conditions across plants. That context helps explain the crop’s stability in variable climates.



The new sweet potato map shows how that force has played out in a food crop. Many of the world’s staple crops also carry multiple chromosome sets, which means the tools proven here are relevant beyond one species. 



Techniques that cleanly separate genome copies will continue to pay off across breeding programs.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-sweet-potato-map-advances-food-security">Sweet potato map advances food security</h2>



A phased reference lets researchers follow each allele through a six-copy genome without losing track of dosage. For traits that depend on the number of favorable copies, that precision is essential.



Recent work shows how allele dosage shapes dozens of agronomic traits in sweet potatoes and how breeding has shifted dosages over time. The “Tanzania” reference adds the structural and ancestral context those dosage studies need.



With the new map, breeders can test whether a resistance locus sits on an Ecuadorian or Central American segment, then design markers that capture the right ancestries. That reduces linkage drag and preserves key quality attributes while improving stress responses.



The assembly also provides a framework for pan-genome efforts that catalog variation across regions and markets. Layering multiple cultivars on a phased backbone will reveal rare, locally valuable segments that standard references often miss.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41477-025-02079-6" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature Plants</a>.



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Sweet potato DNA finally decoded to boost food security

Scientists have now mapped the complete set of chromosomes for...

Picture your morning without coffee, your lunch without apples, your snacks without almonds. The table feels empty, doesn’t it? That’s the reality we face if honey bees disappear. 



Far from aimless wanderers, these tiny pollinators are the quiet workforce keeping our food - and our future - alive.



Every visit a bee makes sparks life into motion - crops grow, ecosystems thrive, and nature holds its balance. Take them away, and fields go barren, farmers struggle, and grocery shelves grow bare. 



National Honey Bee Day 2025 isn’t just a date on the calendar; it’s both a celebration and a call to action. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-honoring-national-honey-bee-day">Honoring National Honey Bee Day</h2>



A jar of honey is more than a touch of sweetness - it’s a symbol of tireless bees and the beekeepers who guide them through the seasons. National Honey Bee Day honors this vital partnership, one that provides many of the foods we love and often take for granted.



In 2009, a group of U.S. beekeepers decided that bees needed recognition. They petitioned the <a href="https://www.usda.gov" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Department of Agriculture</a> for official support. The department agreed, and the first observance took place the same year.



Since then, the holiday has grown. The date was fixed to the third Saturday in August, making it easier for people to plan events. 



Today, a nonprofit group organizes the celebrations, ensuring that the message of bee conservation reaches more communities each year.



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



Pollinators are invisible workers that keep our food supply stable. Nearly 90 percent of wild plants and over 75 percent of food crops depend on them.



Bees are efficient, adaptable, and essential. They visit thousands of flowers daily, moving pollen that allows plants to reproduce. This keeps ecosystems diverse and resilient. But despite their importance, bees face serious threats. 



Habitat destruction, pesticides, and climate stress are stripping away the resources they need to survive. Factor in pollution - and even the impacts of conflict - and their struggle becomes more intense.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-growing-dangers-for-honey-bees">Growing dangers for honey bees</h2>



The <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/world-bee-day-2025-protecting-the-pollinators-that-feed-the-world/">numbers</a> paint a grim picture. In the U.S., up to 60 percent of managed hives vanished this year alone. That scale of loss is devastating for farmers who depend on pollination services.



Pests worsen the crisis. Varroa destructor mites latch onto bee larvae and spread weakness through colonies. Viruses carried by these mites disrupt normal behavior. Bees fly shorter distances, gather less food, and struggle to keep colonies fed. 



Even treatments designed to fight mites can backfire. Poor timing often damages colonies instead of saving them.



When losses reach this level, it’s not just a beekeeper’s problem. It becomes a problem for everyone.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-finding-solutions-to-protect-bees">Finding solutions to protect bees</h2>



Scientists aren’t standing still. One promising tool is a man-made diet designed for bees when pollen is scarce. In field trials, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/artificial-diet-offers-hope-for-saving-endangered-honey-bees/">colonies</a> that received the diet didn’t just survive - they thrived. This offers hope for hives during tough seasons.



Another <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/science-is-giving-beekeepers-a-better-way-to-fight-colony-collapse/">breakthrough</a> is the UBeeO assay, which allows beekeepers to breed bees that resist disease. These hygienic bees reduce reliance on chemicals and create healthier, more stable colonies. Breeding programs built on this tool could transform beekeeping in the coming years.



Timing matters too. Adjusting mite treatments to match hive needs can prevent unnecessary losses. Instead of blanket approaches, smarter strategies give bees a fighting chance.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-making-landscapes-bee-friendly">Making landscapes bee-friendly</h2>



Solutions don’t stop in laboratories. Farmers and gardeners can play a huge role. Honey bees need variety in their diets. Winter bees, in particular, live longer when pollen comes from multiple plants.



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/bee-survival-depends-on-more-than-just-pollen-abundance/">Farmers</a> can help by planting flower strips, rotating crops, and maintaining organic fields. Home gardeners also hold power. Choosing native flowers, mixing bloom times, and skipping pesticides all strengthen local bee populations. 



A growing collection of research shows that even small gardens can support diverse bee communities.



At larger scales, land management matters. Turning unused farm corners into conservation zones attracts pollinators. Pairing organic fields with perennial meadows provides long-term habitats. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-new-threats-to-bees">New threats to bees </h2>



Bees now face threats that scientists never imagined. Microplastics infiltrate hives, artificial lights confuse pollinators, and conflict reduces crop diversity, hurting both bees and farmers.



Researchers are testing solutions like solar parks with flower habitats, nectar-rich crop breeding, and less antibiotic pollution. Experts are also developing RNAi treatments that can target pests without harming helpful insects.



These efforts could protect bees while advancing broader climate and conservation goals.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-action-on-national-honey-bee-day">Action on National Honey Bee Day</h2>



National Honey Bee Day isn’t about grand gestures. It’s about small, consistent actions. Support a local beekeeper by buying honey from them. 



Plant a mix of flowers in your garden or balcony. Avoid spraying pesticides, especially during bloom periods when <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/science-is-giving-beekeepers-a-better-way-to-fight-colony-collapse/">bees</a> are most active.



You can also spread the word. Share research updates about the artificial diet that keeps colonies alive. Talk about how diverse pollen sources make winter bees resilient. These conversations matter because awareness drives action.



Real progress happens when communities, farmers, scientists, and leaders work together. National Honey Bee Day is not just about honoring bees - it’s a reminder that protecting them means protecting our harvests, our ecosystems, and our future.



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National Honey Bee Day 2025: Why pollinators matter

Picture your morning without coffee, your lunch without apples, your...

Autumn usually keeps a steady pace. Trees grow through spring and summer, soak up light, store energy, and then shed their leaves when colder days arrive. 



For decades, scientists saw one main climate signal in this process: warmer autumns delayed leaf-fall. But a second pattern has emerged, and it flips the old rule. In many places, leaves are falling earlier - and the trigger isn’t just temperature. It’s water, or the lack of it.



A new study from&nbsp;<a href="http://english.ynu.edu.cn" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Yunnan University</a> has mapped the exact drought conditions that make plants call it quits before autumn should start. The work covers more than 70 years of data, from both satellites and field sites, across the Northern Hemisphere above 30° latitude. 



The researchers didn’t just look at whether drought happens - they calculated the&nbsp;thresholds&nbsp;at which plants stop resisting and begin to shut down.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-drought-triggers-early-autumn">Drought triggers early autumn</h2>



The team built a statistical model called a copula-based Bayesian framework. It was designed to link two important factors: the dryness before autumn and the date plants turn their leaves. 



The “pre-season drought threshold” is the point where plants stop holding on and start senescing. That threshold isn’t the same everywhere. In dry regions such as deserts and shrublands, even a mild drought can cross it. 



In wetter forests, drought has to be much more severe before the change happens. But when it happens, it happens fast. Plants shift from resilience to vulnerability almost overnight.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-heatwaves-tip-the-balance">Heatwaves tip the balance</h2>



Drought is only part of the story. Heatwaves, especially daytime ones, make things worse. Hot days force plants to lose water faster through their leaves. Soil dries out quickly, and the drought threshold drops - meaning less dryness is needed to trigger leaf-fall.



Nighttime heatwaves have a weaker effect. Stomata stay mostly closed in the dark, slowing water loss. Still, warmer nights add stress by increasing respiration, sometimes without giving plants the energy boost they’d get from sunlight. 



In many regions, the researchers saw a chain reaction: heatwaves lead to meteorological drought, which becomes soil drought, and then leaves start dropping early.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-plant-defenses-have-their-limits">Plant defenses have their limits</h2>



Plants have ways to fight back. A dense leaf canopy shades the soil and stores water. Deep roots pull moisture from far below the surface. These traits - measured as leaf area index (LAI) and ecosystem resilience - delay the moment drought forces plants to stop growing.



But these defenses have limits. In already dry landscapes, even a small drop in water availability can break them. 



The study also found that resilience and LAI depend on rainfall and overall humidity. Wetter conditions strengthen both, while arid conditions weaken them.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-future-droughts-earlier-autumn-seasons">Future droughts, earlier autumn seasons</h2>



The researchers used climate models to see how these drought thresholds might change by the year 2100. The results were clear: more than half of the vegetated land north of 30° latitude will become more sensitive to pre-season droughts. 



In many places, a drought that is considered mild today could have the same effect as a severe drought now.



Northern Eurasia, in particular, may face stronger impacts. There, both droughts and compound drought-heatwave events are expected to push autumn forward more often. 



This means shorter growing seasons, less carbon absorbed by vegetation, and greater pressure on ecosystems that already face other climate stresses.



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



Leaf senescence isn’t just about colour in the forest. It controls how long plants pull carbon dioxide out of the air. An earlier end to the growing season reduces that uptake and can shift some areas from being carbon sinks to carbon sources.



It also affects wildlife. Animals that depend on autumn leaves for food or shelter may find those resources disappearing earlier. Seasonal mismatches can disrupt migration, breeding, and feeding patterns. 



Even farming could feel the impact, as crops and orchards respond to similar drought and heat signals.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-drought-changes-the-timing-of-autumn">Drought changes the timing of autumn</h2>



This study shows that climate change doesn’t just warm the planet - it changes the rules plants live by. 



Knowing the drought thresholds for early leaf-fall can help scientists predict where and when the growing season will shorten. This insight also gives forest managers and policymakers a clearer view of which regions may need help adapting.



In the decades ahead, autumn may still arrive in a blaze of color. But in more and more places, that blaze will come sooner - shaped not by the cool air of fall but by the dry heat of late summer.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-62847-y" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature Communications</a>.



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Drought triggers early autumn by forcing leaves to fall

Autumn usually keeps a steady pace. Trees grow through spring...

Space is getting crowded. Every day, more satellites are launched into Earth’s orbit. Over 11,000 satellites are already active, with thousands more on the way. Add in 1.2 million pieces of space debris larger than one centimeter, and the risk of collision is no longer hypothetical.



For satellite operators, avoiding collisions is now a regular part of the job. This is why the <a href="https://www.esa.int/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">European Space Agency</a> (ESA) is backing a project that could help prevent chaos. The mission is called CREAM - Collision Risk Estimation and Automated Mitigation.



Developed under ESA’s Space Safety Program, CREAM is designed to lighten the load on satellite operators, reduce false alarms, speed up decisions, and ultimately make spaceflight safer.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-automating-a-messy-process">Automating a messy process</h2>



Risk assessments and avoidance plans currently require a lot of human attention. Communicating between <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/burning-up-of-satellites-severely-harms-ozone-recovery/">satellite</a> operators is often difficult. Sometimes it doesn’t happen at all. And when it does, it's usually improvised. The CREAM system aims to change that.



The vision is simple: let software handle as much of the process as possible. CREAM can evaluate potential collisions, draft maneuver plans, help operators make decisions, and support communication between parties. It can even make it easier for future space regulators to keep track of everything.



A unique part of the system is being built specifically to help different players in the space industry talk to each other more easily. 



Whether it’s operators, service providers, regulators, or observers, CREAM is designed to bring them together on the same platform. This level of collaboration is especially useful when the potential collision involves two functioning satellites, not just <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthpedia-articles/what-happens-to-all-the-space-junk/">debris</a>.



In many cases, CREAM may help operators negotiate solutions with minimal back-and-forth. And when disagreements arise, it doesn’t just freeze up. 



CREAM can escalate disputes to a mediation service, ensuring fairness and flexibility while keeping space assets safe.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cream-readies-for-space-trials">CREAM readies for space trials</h2>



The prototype system - built by GMV and Guardtime - is currently operational from the ground. It can already send out <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/space-debris-may-create-a-future-with-no-internet-or-astronaut-missions/">collision</a> alerts, suggest avoidance maneuvers, and support communication between operators. Now, the system is moving into a new phase of testing.



The next step will expand how the system is used and add more decision-making capabilities. At the same time, real-life space tests are in the works.



Some of these tests are “piggyback missions,” where the system will fly as part of another satellite's payload. Others involve a full, dedicated demonstration mission.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-building-tools-for-the-future-of-space">Building tools for the future of space</h2>



The team behind CREAM believes the system can do more than prevent crashes. It could also support future efforts to set rules for <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/moon-mining-and-space-debris-will-we-repeat-earths-mistakes/">traffic</a> in orbit.



“The problem with establishing any kind of ‘rules of the road’ depends not only on the need to find consensus on such rules, but also on the availability of the technologies to make them a reality - a kind of chicken-and-egg problem,” the researchers said.



CREAM isn’t just about day-to-day collision avoidance. It’s also built with long-term change in mind - including how future space traffic might be managed and regulated.



“CREAM can support future space traffic management frameworks by offering a standardized toolset allowing operators to comply with best practices and rules, and regulators to monitor compliance,” the team explained. 



“It is designed to be highly adaptable, allowing non-technical users to define evolving standards within the system. This flexibility ensures long-term relevance as best practice, international norms, and technologies will mature.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-managing-the-satellite-surge">Managing the satellite surge</h2>



The number of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-is-shrinking-earths-atmosphere-and-thats-bad-for-satellites/">satellites</a> in orbit is expected to grow dramatically in the next decade. That means more data, more services, and more opportunity - but also more risk. Managing all of it with current tools isn’t realistic.



CREAM is just one example of how space safety is evolving to meet future demands. It is not only helping solve today’s coordination issues, but also laying the foundation for what comes next: traffic rules, shared standards, and global systems that can scale.



Space isn’t lawless, but it is complex. Systems like CREAM make it easier to stay ahead of problems, instead of cleaning up after them.



-----



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Too much traffic in space? CREAM can help prevent collisions

Space is getting crowded. Every day, more satellites are launched...

<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.



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Is chocolate the next nutritional powerhouse?

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

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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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

[sendtonews key="G9bUoxcjr4-2511624-12187" 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.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

[sendtonews key="LvS8v8bp9z-2564889-12187" 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> explores the ability of salt to transform the way that foods and beverages taste. Salt is known to cover up undesirable flavors, such as bitterness in coffee or beer, but how exactly does sodium chloride change the taste of other compounds?



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

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

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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

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

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

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

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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

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

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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



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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

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

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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