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...

A new study has revealed how organic matter enables soil to lock in water, even in the driest climates. Researchers found that certain plant and microbial carbohydrates create microscopic “bridges” between soil minerals and organic molecules, trapping water that would otherwise evaporate into the air.



The work explains why adding compost or plant matter to soil makes it better at holding moisture - and could help design soils that act like long-term sponges.



“The right amount of minerals and organic matter in soils leads to healthy soils with good moisture,” said senior author Ludmilla Aristilde, a scientist at <a href="https://www.northwestern.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Northwestern University</a>.



“It’s something everyone has experienced, but we haven’t fully understood the physics and chemistry of how that works. By figuring this out, we could potentially engineer soil to have the right chemistry, turning it into long-term sponges that preserve moisture.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-sugars-meet-soil-minerals">Sugars meet soil minerals</h2>



The researchers focused on smectite, a common clay mineral found in soils. They mixed it with three carbohydrates: glucose, amylose, and amylopectin.



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/glucose-the-sweet-secret-to-a-younger-brain/">Glucose</a> is a simple sugar. Amylose and amylopectin are more complex starch polymers made of linked glucose units. Amylose forms straight chains; amylopectin has branched, tree-like structures.



“We decided to use carbohydrates as a type of organic matter because it exists everywhere,” Aristilde said.



“Cellulose, which is the most abundant biopolymer on Earth, is made of glucose, and plants and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/microbes-laid-the-foundation-for-early-life-on-earth/">microbes</a> secrete different carbohydrates into soil. We also selected carbohydrates because they have simple chemistry to avoid complicating our results with certain side reactions.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-clay-s-double-grip-on-water">Clay’s double grip on water</h2>



Using molecular simulations, quantum mechanics, and lab experiments, the team studied how clay, water, and carbohydrates interact at the nanoscale.



They found that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/earths-land-based-water-storage-has-drastically-diminished-and-its-not-being-replaced/">water</a> forms hydrogen bonds not only with other water molecules but also with both clay surfaces and carbohydrates at the same time. 



These dual bonds create water “bridges” that cling tightly inside the soil’s structure.



“When a water molecule is retained via a hydrogen bond with a carbohydrate and a hydrogen bond with the surface of a mineral, this water has a strong binding energy and is stuck between the two things it’s interacting with,” Aristilde said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-stronger-bonds-stronger-soil">Stronger bonds, stronger soil</h2>



Simulations showed that water lodged between clay and carbohydrates had far stronger binding energy than water on clay alone. 



Complex sugar polymers boosted water-binding strength by up to five times compared to bare clay. Soil with the right organic matter holds water more effectively, even in extreme dryness.



“We increased the temperature to measure water loss in both the presence and absence of carbohydrates,” Aristilde said.



“Compared to the clay by itself, it required higher temperatures for water to leave the matrix with the presence of the clay and carbohydrates together. This means the water was retained more strongly in the presence of the carbohydrates.”



In addition, the large, branched <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/tiny-molecule-could-shape-the-future-of-food-security/">carbohydrate molecule</a>s kept clay pores from fully collapsing when dried. Normally, as clay loses water, its nanopores shrink. 



But carbohydrates prevented complete collapse, allowing the soil to maintain pockets of trapped moisture for long periods - including during drought.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-from-farms-to-mars">From farms to Mars</h2>



These findings could change the way farmers, gardeners, and environmental engineers think about soil health. By fine-tuning the balance of minerals and organic matter, it may be possible to create soils that retain water longer, reducing irrigation needs and helping <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/critical-food-crops-are-threatened-by-rising-temperatures-globally/">crops</a> survive in dry regions.



The implications also extend to planetary science. The same chemistry may explain how moisture persisted in ancient Martian soils or meteorites for billions of years.



“Even though our goal was to understand how soil on Earth holds on to its moisture, the mechanisms we uncovered here may have implications in understanding phenomena beyond our planet,” Aristilde said.



“There is a lot of interest in how this relationship between organics and water might play out on other planets - especially those that are considered to have once harbored life.”



By uncovering the molecular “glue” that binds water to soil, the research opens up possibilities for sustaining life in the harshest conditions. This could apply both here on Earth and far across the solar system.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/advance-article/doi/10.1093/pnasnexus/pgaf259/8229066?searchresult=1&amp;login=false" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">PNAS Nexus</a>.



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Organic matter helps soil hold water - even in conditions like Mars

A new study has revealed how organic matter enables soil...

Children who grow up helping, sharing, caring, and showing kindness are more likely to maintain healthy eating habits in their teen years. A new analysis finds that prosocial behavior in kids aligns with stronger fruit-and-vegetable consumption at ages when diets often decline.



The pattern hints at an unexpected route to better health: nurture kindness early in kids, and nutrition may follow.



The research draws on the <a href="https://cls.ucl.ac.uk/cls-studies/millennium-cohort-study/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Millennium Cohort Study</a>, which has followed a nationally representative group of children in the United Kingdom from birth for more than two decades.



Parents reported how often their child engaged in helping, cooperating, and caring at ages five, seven, and 11. These profiles were then compared with teens’ self-reported fruit and vegetable intake at ages 14 and 17.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-putting-kids-strengths-first">Putting kids’ strengths first</h2>



Farah Qureshi is the lead investigator from the Department of Population, Family, and Reproductive Health at the <a href="https://publichealth.jhu.edu/departments/population-family-and-reproductive-health" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health</a>.



“Too often, we focus on what is going wrong in young people’s lives, but what we hear from them time and time again is that they are tired of that narrative," she said. "They want us adults to pay more attention to what is going right, including what they bring to their families and communities,” 



Prior research has found that behaviors that help others (like volunteering) are related to better health in older adults. 



"We wanted to understand whether these types of activities benefit youth as well, focusing on a broader range of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/prosocial-behavior-by-young-children-extends-to-dogs/">prosocial behaviors</a>, like acts of kindness, cooperation, and caring for others,” Qureshi said.



“In our current research, we found that children who consistently displayed more of these kinds of positive social behaviors at any age were more likely to maintain healthy eating habits into their teenage years, a time when dietary choices set patterns that can shape lifelong health.”



Her point is simple. When researchers look only for risks, they miss assets that help kids thrive. Prosociality may be one such asset. It shows up early. It can be reinforced at home, in schools, and in communities. And it may carry downstream benefits for health.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-benefits-of-kindness-in-kids">Benefits of kindness in kids</h2>



The team also explored why kindness might matter for <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/healthier-diet-could-boost-memory-delay-dementia/">diet</a>. Stronger social ties can make daily life less stressful. Feeling capable and purposeful can help teens stick with better habits. Those are the kinds of pathways the authors had in mind.



“Prosocial behaviors, such as being considerate of others’ feelings, sharing, helping if someone is hurt or upset, being kind, and volunteering to help others, can influence health by strengthening children’s social ties," said Julia K. Boehm from the <a href="https://www.chapman.edu/crean/academic-programs/undergraduate-programs/ba-psychology/index.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Department of Psychology at Chapman University</a>.



This can help improve psychological functioning by promoting better mood, purpose, feelings of competence, and enhanced capacity to cope with <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/why-stress-makes-us-take-more-risks-in-financial-decisions/">stress</a>. 



"All of these, in turn, serve as resources that may inform health-related choices, as is evidenced by our latest findings,” she said.



In short, practices that build empathy may also build the resilience needed to choose healthier foods. That does not replace nutrition education. But it may make it stick.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-reading-between-the-findings">Reading between the findings</h2>



This study has notable strengths. The sample is large. The design is longitudinal. The follow-up spans key developmental stages. 



The models also adjust for many family factors, including early eating behaviors reported by parents, socioeconomic conditions, and marital status. That helps reduce bias.



Still, some influences are hard to capture. <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/orangutan-mothers-have-unique-parenting-styles-like-humans/">Parenting styles</a> and the finer details of home life may shape both kindness and diet in kids. The authors acknowledge that not every confounder can be measured in a national cohort. The association is robust, but it is not proof of causation.



Even with those caveats, the pattern fits with prior work. Cross-sectional studies have linked prosocial behavior to healthier lifestyles in youth. These new longitudinal data extend that evidence across childhood into adolescence.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-putting-kindness-into-practice">Putting kindness into practice</h2>



If prosociality functions as a health asset, it invites a different playbook. Programs could encourage activities that focus on cooperation, service, and care. 



Schools and youth groups already do this in many forms. The key is to recognize such efforts as health promotion, not just character education.



Study co-author Laura D. Kubzansky is an expert in the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences at <a href="https://hsph.harvard.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health</a>.



"Asset-based interventions can open the door to new and creative health promotion strategies that engage youth in ways that speak to their inherent strengths, including shared values around kindness and cooperation," said Kubzansky.



"Supporting prosociality in childhood may be a promising health promotion strategy for future consideration."



That approach meets teens where they are. It leverages values that matter to them. And it may help cement better habits during a pivotal window.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-need-for-more-kindness">The need for more kindness</h2>



The study closes on a broader note about the social climate - and what kids need from adults right now.



“We are living through a divisive time, when <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/empathy-can-be-taught-through-simple-reward-training/">empathy</a> can feel undervalued," Qureshi said. "This study offers us an important reminder about the power of kindness and compassion not only for those who receive it, but also for those who give it."



"Cultivating these qualities in kids may be an important and novel pathway to promoting public health.” 



Nutrition advice often narrows to nutrients and numbers. This research widens the lens. Help kids practice kindness, and you may help them build the inner resources that keep healthy choices on the plate when it counts most.



The study is published in the <a href="https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0749379725004568" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">American Journal of Preventive Medicine</a>.



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Childhood kindness linked to healthier teen choices

Children who grow up helping, sharing, caring, and showing kindness...

They appear in sudden waves, carpeting roads and crawling up walls, leaving silky tents in their wake. Then, just as abruptly, they vanish. Western tent caterpillars, with their striking orange-and-black bodies and hairy frames, are infamous during their peak outbreaks - and almost forgotten during their quiet years.



For Judith Myers, a professor in the Faculties of Science and Land and Food Systems at the <a href="https://www.ubc.ca/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of British Columbia</a>, these insects have been a lifelong research focus.



Her recently published study draws on five decades of work, offering surprising insights into their behavior, population cycles - and their resilience to climate change.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-an-unwelcome-natural-spectacle">An unwelcome natural spectacle</h2>



Western tent caterpillars live across British Columbia, with dense populations on Vancouver Island and the southern Gulf Islands. Their range stretches as far as Manitoba to the east and California to the south. They favor the leaves of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/red-alder-trees-can-nutrients/">red alder</a> and fruit trees.



Eggs hatch in April, and the young larvae gather inside silken shelters, or “tents,” which provide warmth and protection. 



By early June, they leave these tents in search of vertical surfaces where they can pupate. They cluster in large numbers on fences, walls, and buildings. While this display fascinates some, many find it revolting.



In high densities, the caterpillars can strip fruit trees bare. On Salt Spring Island in 2012, a severe outbreak was so disruptive it forced the cancellation of the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/apple-orchards-face-compounding-threats-from-climate-change/">apple</a> festival. Some tourists to the Gulf Islands have even cut their trips short upon encountering the swarms. 



They are also inedible to most animals, and there has been one reported case of a horse becoming severely ill after consuming larvae.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-five-decades-with-caterpillars">Five decades with caterpillars</h2>



Myers has always been interested in what causes animal populations to rise and fall. She began her work in British Columbia in 1972 and soon encountered the caterpillars on Mandarte Island, where her husband was studying <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/revealed-why-song-sparrows-are-larger-in-colder-climates/">song sparrows</a>. 



Weekends spent in the field deepened her curiosity, leading her to focus on how these insects’ numbers boom and crash over time.



Her early fascination turned into a long-running investigation into the natural forces that govern their cycles. One of the key factors, she and other researchers discovered, is a virus specific to the species which drives population declines in much the same way seen in other moths.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-lessons-from-tent-caterpillars">Lessons from tent caterpillars</h2>



Working with Dr. Jenny Cory from <a href="https://www.sfu.ca/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Simon Fraser University</a>, Myers found that outbreaks occur simultaneously on islands and the mainland. The team was intrigued to learn that some female moths travel tens of miles to lay eggs in areas where the species had previously disappeared.



Perhaps most unexpected is the species’ lack of response to a changing climate. Over 50 years, scientists have not seen any effect of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/global-warming-is-accelerating-beyond-control-as-co2-levels-rise/">global warming</a> on such insect populations. 



The caterpillars’ behavior offers a clue: they bask in sunlight during cooler weather and retreat under their tents during hot spells - a strategy that appears to shield them from temperature extremes.



This adaptability led Myers to reflect on whether humans might take a lesson from them. She wonders if our own global population growth is stripping the planet’s resources in much the same way caterpillars defoliate their host trees.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cycles-of-caterpillar-swarms">Cycles of caterpillar swarms</h2>



The last significant outbreak came in 2023, particularly on Galiano Island and other Gulf Islands, as well as Westham Island in the Lower Mainland. 



By this year, the population had collapsed, with only one tent recorded in Myers’s Galiano study area. Such crashes are part of the natural cycle, with numbers expected to build slowly over six to eight years before peaking again.



The predictability of these cycles means outbreaks can be anticipated. Researchers often forecast them up to three years in advance, identifying early signs each April when small <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dragonfly-larvae-expose-climates-hidden-influence-on-biology/">larvae</a> and new tents appear in fruit trees.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-keeping-outbreaks-in-check">Keeping outbreaks in check</h2>



While the sight of caterpillars covering fences and trees can be unsettling, Myers stresses that nature provides its own check. The same virus that drives their declines typically spreads as populations grow dense, eventually bringing outbreaks to an end.



In the meantime, fruit tree owners can take action early in the season. Removing egg masses in winter or tents in spring can reduce damage. Commercial growers often turn to BTK, a microbial insecticide that is most effective before caterpillars have done significant harm.



Western tent caterpillars may come and go in waves, but their story - shaped by mobility, adaptability, and natural controls - remains one of nature’s most intricate and enduring cycles.



The study is published in the <a href="https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2656.70104" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Journal of Animal Ecology</a>.



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Tent caterpillars swarm once a decade, then vanish overnight

They appear in sudden waves, carpeting roads and crawling up...

Managing pain is not just about picking the right drug, but matching the right medication to your DNA. A simple genetic test, done before prescribing, could help doctors predict which pain medicine will work best for you and which might cause dangerous side effects.



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/virtual-nature-scenes-provide-relief-from-chronic-pain/">Pain treatment</a> has always been a trial-and-error process, but a new study shows it does not have to be.



"Despite advances in pharmacologic options, interindividual variability in response and susceptibility to adverse effects continues to challenge clinicians," wrote the researchers, including first author Ivan Martin da Silva.



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



Even with progress in medications and medical technology, many patients continue to experience severe pain, particularly following surgery. Persistent pain affects not only the body but also emotional well-being.



It can affect other systems, leading to complications. How one person reacts to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/pain-relief-breakthrough-as-scientists-discover-a-safer-non-addictive-approach-trpv1/">analgesics</a> differs from another, not only in effects, but also in side effects.



However, for better pain relief, doctors often combine multiple drugs. Certain combinations can cause further adverse reactions in the body.



Pharmacogenetics paves the way for better pain management by predicting a patient's response to specific drugs. This approach analyzes genes responsible for the secretion of enzymes that metabolize medications.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-matching-pain-medication-and-dna">Matching pain medication and DNA</h2>



Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are commonly prescribed for acute and chronic pain, including musculoskeletal, cancer-related, and post-surgical pain. They are also effective at reducing swelling and fever.



Pain, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/coffee-with-milk-has-powerful-anti-inflammatory-properties/">inflammation</a>, and fever are caused by compounds called prostaglandins. NSAIDs block or lower the levels of prostaglandins to reduce these effects.&nbsp;



Since they are highly effective, doctors widely prescribe NSAIDs. But their pharmacokinetics, that is, how the drug works in the body, and potential side effects vary among individuals.



This variation results from genetic differences in the enzymes that break down these drugs. For example, if the enzyme acts slowly, the drug can build up in the body, causing severe side effects. The faster the enzyme works, the quicker the drug is cleared.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-genetic-differences-in-drug-metabolism">Genetic differences in drug metabolism </h2>



Researchers have studied the CYP2C9 gene to better understand why <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK547742/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NSAID</a> metabolism varies among individuals. This gene provides instructions for making the enzyme CYP2C9, which metabolizes NSAIDs.&nbsp;



Variations in the gene can increase or decrease enzyme production. In individuals with reduced CYP2C9 function, NSAID <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/human-metabolism-has-evolved-to-become-energetically-unique/">metabolism</a> is slower.



Doctors must then prescribe a lower dose or choose a different medication, which can benefit patients on long-term NSAID treatment, especially older adults or those with kidney or heart issues.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-personalized-opioid-therapy">Personalized opioid therapy </h2>



While NSAIDs are often the first step in managing pain, some patients need stronger medications. In those cases, opioids may be prescribed, often to treat nerve pain, post-surgical pain, or cancer-related pain.&nbsp;



The CYP2D6 enzyme in the liver metabolizes most opioids. Studies support genotyping CYP2D6 for opioids such as codeine and tramadol.



According to researchers, more gene-drug associations with opioid drugs may exist, but are not yet confirmed. Testing the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/cyp2d6#:~:text=CYP2D6%20is%20defined%20as%20a,affecting%20individual%20responses%20to%20medications." target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CYP2D6</a> genotype before prescribing opioids can help avoid treatment failure or adverse drug reactions.



In the future, testing broader genes like CYP3A4, OPRM1, or COMT could be beneficial for treatments with opioids, but further validation is needed.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-genetic-testing-for-nerve-pain-medicine">Genetic testing for nerve pain medicine</h2>



Genetics also influence how people respond to nerve pain drugs such as <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/antidepressants-may-help-the-immune-system-fight-cancer/">antidepressants</a>, anticonvulsants, and gabapentinoids.



These medications are prescribed for first- or second-line treatment for nerve pain. Most of the drugs have a narrow therapeutic index (NTI), meaning the safe dose is very close to the toxic dose.



Nerve pain drugs can cause adverse side effects. ​​CYP2D6 and CYP2C19 are the main enzymes that metabolize various opioids. Genotyping the enzymes helps doctors adjust dosages for effectiveness and reduce adverse drug reactions (ADRs).



Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) is a set of genes that play a critical role in the immune system. In some individuals, certain <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK546662/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">HLA</a> variants recognize opioid drugs as threats, causing life-threatening hypersensitivity reactions.



Genotyping HLA before prescribing these drugs can prevent such reactions. Using genetics to guide drug choice can make nerve pain treatment more precise and safer.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-challenges-of-pharmacogenetics">Challenges of pharmacogenetics</h2>



The cost of pharmacogenetic tests has decreased recently. However, healthcare reimbursement and accessibility factors remain challenging.&nbsp;



Interpreting the test results requires expert knowledge, which means additional training for healthcare professionals is necessary. Effective collaboration among specialists from relevant fields is also essential to implement this extra step in clinical practice.&nbsp;



Engaging all stakeholders is necessary to integrate the new genetic testing process into existing healthcare routines. Additionally, healthcare professionals need to monitor the outcomes to track the effectiveness of the new approach.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-future-of-pain-management">The future of pain management</h2>



In the future, pharmacogenetics in pain management may move beyond single-gene tests to multigene panels analyzing multiple genes affecting drug metabolism.&nbsp;



It may also enable assessment of polygenic risk scores, which are numerical values indicating an individual's susceptibility to diseases and <a href="https://ww2.nycourts.gov/ip/adr/What_Is_ADR.shtml#:~:text=Alternative%20dispute%20resolution%20(ADR)%20refers,%2C%20arbitration%2C%20and%20neutral%20evaluation." target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ADR</a>s.&nbsp;



Advanced technologies for gene sequencing, machine learning, and data analysis could help predict the mechanism of action of the drug.&nbsp;



Pharmacogenetics can also be combined with <a href="https://www.ebi.ac.uk/training/online/courses/proteomics-an-introduction/what-is-proteomics/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">proteomics</a>, metabolomics, and epigenomics to understand the variations in responses to pain medicines. Overall, it can make pain management treatments safer and more effective, reducing side effects and minimizing opioid use.&nbsp;



With pharmacogenetics, your next pain prescription could be tailored to your DNA.



The research is published in the journal <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9059/13/8/1935" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Biomedicines</a>.



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Why your DNA matters in using the right pain medication

Managing pain is not just about picking the right drug,...

In the shallow waters along rocky shores, a small marine creature quietly grows teeth stronger than steel. These teeth don’t come from a machine shop or a high-temperature furnace. They form inside the mouth of a chiton - a mollusk that grazes on algae - and they’re replaced every few days.



A new international study has revealed the process behind this extraordinary feat. The work was led by scientists from the University of California, Irvine, along with Japan’s Okayama and Toho universities.



The research not only explains how chiton teeth form but also opens the door to new ways of making advanced materials for everyday use.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-nature-s-low-key-armor-tank">Nature’s low-key armor tank</h2>



Chiton are marine mollusks that are related to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/giant-clams-grow-huge-without-eating-much-protein/">clams</a> and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/marine-snails-have-a-swimming-style-that-corresponds-with-their-shell/">snails</a>. They spend most of their lives clinging to rocks in the intertidal zone - the strip of shoreline that’s alternately covered and exposed as the tide shifts.



At first glance, a chiton might not look like much. Its body is protected by eight overlapping plates, like a tiny suit of armor, with a leathery girdle around the edges. This flexible shell lets the animal curl into a ball when pried from a surface, shielding its softer underside.



Chitons move slowly, grazing on thin layers of algae that grow on rocks. To do this, they use a radula - a ribbon-like tongue lined with rows of hard teeth. 



These teeth scrape against stone in a repetitive grinding motion that would quickly wear down most other materials. For a chiton, it’s just part of breakfast.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-chiton-teeth-on-a-molecular-scale">Chiton teeth on a molecular scale</h2>



The team found that a chiton’s secret lies in specialized iron-binding proteins called RTMP1. These proteins travel into developing teeth through tiny channels known as microvilli. 



The timing and placement of these proteins are precisely controlled, ensuring each new tooth grows with an architecture that can withstand the creature’s constant scraping of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ocean-algae-play-an-unexpected-role-in-cooling-the-earth/">algae</a> from rocks.



"Chiton teeth, which consist of both magnetite nanorods and organic material, are not only harder and stiffer than human <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/tooth-enamel-holds-a-record-of-human-health/">tooth enamel</a>, but also harder than high-carbon steels, stainless steel, and even zirconium oxide and aluminum oxide - advanced engineered ceramics made at high temperatures," said co-author David Kisailus, UC Irvine professor of materials science and engineering.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-teeth-that-outperform-industrial-tools">Teeth that outperform industrial tools</h2>



"Chiton grow new teeth every few days that are superior to materials used in industrial cutting tools, grinding media, dental implants, surgical implants and protective coatings, yet they are made at room temperature and with nanoscale precision. We can learn a lot from these biological designs and processes," Kisailus explained.



There are more than 900 <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fossils-called-punk-and-emo-rewrite-the-story-of-mollusk-evolution/">chiton</a> species around the world. They live mostly in intertidal coastal regions, from places like Crystal Cove and Laguna Beach to the Northwest U.S. coastline and off Hokkaido, Japan. 



The researchers discovered that RTMP1 proteins are found in chitons from many different locations, hinting at a shared evolutionary solution for controlling iron oxide formation.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-step-by-step-molecular-assembly">A step-by-step molecular assembly</h2>



When the project began, the scientists didn’t know exactly how or when these proteins reached the forming teeth. By combining advanced imaging and biological tools, they found the proteins start in surrounding tissues and move into the tooth through nanostructured tubules.



Inside, the proteins attach to a chitin scaffold - a fibrous material that shapes the magnetite nanorods. At the same time, iron stored in another protein, ferritin, is released into the tooth. 



This iron binds to the RTMP1 and crystallizes into highly aligned magnetite rods. The result is an ultrahard tooth built with remarkable precision.



Kisailus said the research not only deepens our understanding of how living things handle iron but also gives engineers fresh ideas for creating new materials.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-lessons-for-technology-and-sustainability">Lessons for technology and sustainability</h2>



"The fact that these organisms form new sets of teeth every few days not only enables us to study the mechanisms of precise, nanoscale mineral formation within the teeth, but also presents us with new opportunities toward the spatially and temporally controlled synthesis of other materials for a broad range of applications, such as batteries, fuel cell catalysts and semiconductors," said Kisailus. 



These applications include new approaches toward additive manufacturing - such as 3D printing - and synthesis methods that are far more environmentally friendly and sustainable, he noted



The project combined cutting-edge electron microscopy, X-ray analysis, and spectroscopy with genetic and molecular biology methods to map out the complete process of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/neanderthal-genes-influence-the-development-of-modern-teeth/">tooth formation</a>.



"By combining biological and materials science approaches through wonderful, global efforts, we've uncovered how one of the hardest and strongest biological materials on Earth is built from the ground up," concluded Professor Kisailus.



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adu0043">Science</a>.



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Nature's toughest teeth inspire next-generation materials

In the shallow waters along rocky shores, a small marine...

Materials that are thousands of times thinner than a human hair, known as nanomaterials, may help detect and treat deadly cancer.&nbsp;



Many studies have shown that these particles can enhance the effects of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/laser-technology-could-improve-radiation-treatments-for-cancer-patients/">radiation therapy</a> and chemotherapy. They deliver the treatment directly to the tumor site while leaving healthy tissues unharmed. &nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cancer-research-using-nanomaterials">Cancer research using nanomaterials</h2>



In the latest review, researchers analyzed published papers on nanomaterials. This was the first time a bibliometric analysis had been applied to study <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/nanofiber" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">nanofiber technology</a>.



The team reviewed articles and other publications released in English between 2004 and 2024. The study focused on keywords like “nanomaterials,” “nanobiomaterials,”  and “nano,” combined with “radiation therapy.”



The findings showed that nanomaterials are far from a dull research topic. The researchers retrieved a total of 2,022 publications. They found that the number of articles increased rapidly after 2012, and peaked in 2023. Due to delays in data indexing, there was a dip in 2024.



The analysis covered research from 84 countries, with China leading in terms of both publications and citations. The United States had the highest level of international collaboration.&nbsp;



<a href="http://www.scu.edu.tw/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Soochow University</a> and the Chinese Academy of Sciences were the top contributing institutions. Liu Zhuang from Soochow University was identified as the most productive author in this field. The bibliometric analysis reflects the rising interest in using nanomaterials in cancer therapy.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-treating-cancer-with-nanomaterials">Treating cancer with nanomaterials </h2>



Nanomaterials are particles ranging from one to 100 nanometers in diameter. Doctors have been using nanomaterials for about three decades. 



For example, doxorubicin liposome injection (Doxil) contains the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/new-dna-test-can-determine-if-chemotherapy-will-fail-before-first-dose/">chemotherapy</a> drug doxorubicin. A thin, fat layer, composed of liposomes, coats the drug. With this design, the medication directly targets the tumor site.&nbsp;



Additionally, nanomaterials can do something that traditional diagnostic scans cannot. They can <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/computer-model-can-identify-tumor-fighting-immune-cells/">detect tumors</a> at an earlier stage and pinpoint their exact location.&nbsp;



Since the 2000s, gold nanoparticles (GNPs) have been used in radiation therapy. GNPs enable doctors to focus radiation directly on tumor areas.&nbsp;



Certain nanomaterials modify the tumor microenvironment. They also boost the effectiveness of other advanced cancer treatments.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-challenges-in-nanomaterial-therapy">Challenges in nanomaterial therapy </h2>



Before introducing nanomaterials to the clinical field, researchers have to overcome many challenges.



Radiation therapy works best when the tumor cells have enough oxygen. In the case of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/hypoxia-is-a-serious-problem-in-rivers-worldwide/">hypoxia</a>, a condition of low oxygen, tumor cells resist radiation. The more advanced the cancer, the more severe the issue becomes.



The drawbacks could be overcome by combining nanoparticles with radiosensitizers. These substances make cancer <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/cancer-cells-create-power-waves-to-fuel-invasion/">cells</a> take up more radiation, thus allowing them to absorb the treatment effectively. 



Radiation often causes DNA damage. Cancer cells use proteins like PARP, ATM, and ATR to repair this.&nbsp;



This mechanism makes radiation therapy less effective. Nanoparticles could block these proteins, thus allowing radiation to kill more cancer cells.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-enhancing-radiation-with-nanomaterials">Enhancing radiation with nanomaterials </h2>



Tumor cells go through a series of stages during their life cycle. One particular stage is called <a href="https://www.cellsignal.com/pathways/g2m-dna-damage-checkpoint-pathway#:~:text=The%20G2%2FM%20DNA%20damage,tyrosine%20kinases%20Wee1%20and%20Myt1." target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">G2/M phase</a>, where the cells are vulnerable to external stress. Scientists found that radiation was more effective when targeting cells in this phase. 



Tumor cells often have a microenvironment with hypoxia and leaky blood vessels, which affects radiation efficacy. Researchers are exploring drugs to normalize this microenvironment and improve treatment outcomes.



This is where metallic radioactive nanoparticles (MRNPs) come into action. Metals like gold, silver, and platinum make up these nanoparticles.



MRNPs are radiation boosters. They can be loaded with radioactive elements to deliver radiation directly to tumor sites. Other carbon-based nanomaterials also enhance radiosensitization.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Tumor vessels are mostly poorly maintained, with abnormal proliferation and wide interstitial spaces. This enables nanoparticles to sneak into the tumor cells and accumulate. Scientists call this effect "enhanced permeability and retention" (<a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.05.07.592926v1.full" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">EPR</a>).&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-targeted-nanoparticle-delivery">Targeted nanoparticle delivery </h2>



Scientists can attach molecules called <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352952023000737" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ligands</a> to the nanoparticles, which guide them straight to tumor tissues.&nbsp;



Polymeric nanoparticles play a dual role here. They can carry both radioactive and chemotherapeutic agents to the tumor site.&nbsp;



Clinics already use nano-delivery systems with liposomes. Others, like polymer-based carriers, have gained approval for use in vaccines.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-future-of-cancer-therapy">The future of cancer therapy</h2>



The future of this field is complex and exciting. Researchers are developing nanocarriers with both diagnostic and therapeutic effects. These are called “<a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/theranostics" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">theranostic</a>” nanoparticles.&nbsp;



They help treat tumors and simultaneously let doctors check the progress of the condition. Some can even activate the patient’s immune system to fight cancer cells more effectively.&nbsp;



Ultimately, nanoparticles that are both safe and highly effective could change the way doctors diagnose and treat cancer.



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4991/15/15/1205" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nanomaterials</a>.



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How nanomaterials could power up cancer treatment

Materials that are thousands of times thinner than a human...

When most people think of space impacts, they imagine massive craters - but an airburst can deliver the same level of destruction without leaving a visible scar. In these rare events, a comet or asteroid explodes in the atmosphere, sending searing heat and shockwaves across the land.



Recent studies from <a href="https://www.ucsb.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">UC Santa Barbara</a> are shedding new light on how destructive airburst events can be, and why they might be far more common than we’ve realized.



“Touchdown events can cause extreme damage through very high temperatures and pressures. And yet they don’t necessarily form a crater, or they form ephemeral surface disturbances, but they’re not the classic major craters that come from direct impacts," noted Professor James Kennett.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-evidence-of-ancient-airbursts">Evidence of ancient airbursts</h2>



In one study, the research team uncovered traces of a 12,800-year-old <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ancient-cosmic-explosion-changes-what-we-know-about-space/">cosmic explosion</a> preserved in deep-ocean sediments from Baffin Bay, off Greenland’s western coast.



“Baffin Bay is very significant because it’s the first time we’ve found evidence for the Younger Dryas cosmic impact event in the marine record,” said Professor Kennett.



According to the Younger Dryas Impact Hypothesis, a fragmented <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/prehistoric-comet-impact-triggered-the-invention-of-agriculture/">comet</a> exploded above Earth, triggering a sudden global cooling period, the extinction of large animals, and major cultural shifts in humans. 



Evidence of the event is often found in a carbon-rich “black mat” layer containing platinum, iridium, metallic melt spherules, shocked quartz, and minerals fused into meltglass. "They’re preserved in marine sediments as deep as about 2,000 meters,” noted Professor Kennett. 



While the material doesn’t reveal the exact shock strength, it does show the scale and reach of the blast. “The material was thrown up into the atmosphere, and was globally transported and deposited in a broadly distributed layer that we earlier have described.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-lake-that-might-be-a-crater">A lake that might be a crater</h2>



For decades, scientists have debated whether any crater exists from the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/did-a-cosmic-airburst-set-the-world-on-fire-12800-years-ago/">Younger Dryas</a> boundary period. Finding one is tricky - touchdown airbursts don’t always leave obvious marks on the landscape.



“Previously, there has been no evidence for the Younger Dryas boundary (YDB) event of any crater or possible crater,” said Professor Kennett. “So these events are more difficult to detect, especially when they are older than a few thousand years and after being buried, leave little or no superficial evidence.”



But in Louisiana, a shallow seasonal lake near Perkins could change that. First speculated in 1938 to be an impact site due to its shape and raised rim, the depression was later found to contain spherules, meltglass, and shocked quartz - all consistent with cosmic impacts. 



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/radiocarbon-could-be-key-in-predicting-earths-future/">Radiocarbon dating</a> links the material to the Younger Dryas event. Still, the scientists caution that more research is needed to confirm it as a crater.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-airbursts-may-leave-unique-signatures">Airbursts may leave unique signatures </h2>



Shocked quartz is one of the clearest markers of high-energy impacts. Traditionally, scientists have used it to confirm crater-forming events. But the new research expands that definition to include a wider variety of fracture patterns - a clue that airbursts may leave their own unique signatures.



One study focused on <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/earth-had-major-asteroid-impact-event-tunguska-in-1908-remains-mystery/">Tunguska</a>, Siberia, where in 1908 a fireball flattened more than 2,000 square kilometers of forest. “The interesting thing about Tunguska is that it is the only recorded historical touchdown event,” Kennett said.



In addition to historical accounts and photographs of devastation, the team found shocked quartz grains, meltglass-filled fractures, impact spherules, and melted metal and carbon. This evidence suggests that the blast’s energy may have created small ground depressions now visible as swamps and lakes.



Another study examined Tall el-Hammam in the southern Jordan Valley, where a Bronze Age city is thought to have been destroyed by a similar event around 3,600 years ago. 



Here too, the team identified spherules, meltglass, rare minerals, and a range of shocked quartz fracture patterns - some classic parallel cracks, others web-like or curved, hinting at varied blast pressures and directions.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-airburst-events-deserve-more-attention">Why airburst events deserve more attention</h2>



Taken together, these studies suggest that touchdown airbursts happen more often than the massive <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/frequent-asteroid-strikes-delayed-oxygen-growth-on-earth/">asteroid strikes</a> that leave craters. And while they may be harder to detect, they can cause far more widespread destruction.



“They’re far more common, but also possess much more destructive potential than the more localized, classic crater-forming asteroidal impacts,” said Professor Kennett. 



“The destruction from touchdown events can be much more widespread. And yet they haven’t been very well studied, so these should be of interest to humanity.”



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0328347">PLOS One</a>.



Image Credit: UC Santa Barbara 



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When a comet explodes: Cosmic airbursts are more common than we thought

When most people think of space impacts, they imagine massive...

When wildfires rage, the skies turn dark, the air smells of ash, and people retreat indoors to escape the haze. Most of us think of the smoke’s visible particles - the kind that irritate eyes and clog lungs. But there’s a less obvious danger drifting in that haze: ozone.



Ozone is a reactive oxygen molecule, O₃, that can damage lungs and other sensitive tissues in the body. 



Unlike the blanket of fine particulate matter you can see hanging in the air, ozone is nearly invisible and easy to overlook. Yet it can be just as harmful - sometimes more so - causing respiratory problems and aggravating existing health conditions.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-wildfire-smoke-and-ozone-levels">Wildfire smoke and ozone levels</h2>



Researchers at the <a href="https://www.utah.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Utah</a> studied how smoke from Western wildfires affects ozone concentrations. They found that smoke can substantially raise <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/reducing-smog-by-taming-ozone-levels-in-a-changing-climate-is-proving-quite-difficult/">ozone levels</a> - even in remote areas far from cities and industrial sites. 



These are places where human-made sources of ozone’s main building blocks, such as nitrogen oxides (NOx), are minimal.



“The question I wanted to ask was, if we don’t have urban emissions, let’s say that we zero out all emissions, will we still have an ozone problem?” said lead author Derek Mallia, a research assistant professor of atmospheric sciences. 



“This study suggests that we could remove all of the regional emissions from anthropogenic sources of NOx, but fires can still produce a large amount of ozone.”



The team’s findings reveal a troubling reality: wildfire smoke delivers a “double hit” to air quality - first with fine particles, then with elevated ozone. In the United States, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/wildfire-smoke-exposure-linked-to-mental-health-issues/">smoke exposure</a> is linked to an estimated 6,300 deaths each year.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-wildfires-boost-ozone">How wildfires boost ozone</h2>



Ozone doesn’t come directly from fires. Instead, it forms when sunlight triggers chemical reactions between oxygen atoms, NOx, and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/common-household-products-expose-people-to-dangerous-chemicals/">volatile organic compounds</a> (VOCs). VOCs are abundant in wildfire smoke, while NOx comes mainly from vehicles and industry.



Modeling ozone is tricky because so many factors influence it - wind patterns, temperature, cloud cover, and time of day all play a role. 



To study the connection, Mallia’s team used coupled computer models, WRF-Sfire and WRF-Chem, to examine a record-setting smoke event in August 2020.



That month, fires burned across the West. California’s August Complex fire scorched more than 1 million acres and caused $12 billion in damage. Utah’s East Fork fire consumed 90,000 acres, and Oregon’s Lionshead and Beachie Creek fires together destroyed 400,000 acres.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ozone-spikes-far-from-the-flames">Ozone spikes far from the flames</h2>



The study found that wildfire smoke increases ozone concentrations by an average of 21 parts per billion (ppb). "Ozone was roughly 20 to 30% higher because of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/wildfire-smoke-is-an-underestimated-threat-to-public-health/">wildfire smoke</a>,” Mallia said. “That’s pretty big.”



Given that background ozone in the West is already elevated, the added boost often pushes levels above the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s health limit of 70 parts per billion.



The researchers also found that smoke can work against itself. When thick plumes block sunlight, ozone production slows, sometimes by up to 10 ppb inside the plume.



“You also have a lot of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/breast-cancer-incidence-linked-to-high-particulate-air-pollution/">particulate matter</a>, which is a pollutant, too, but it can block sunlight and therefore that will reduce the amount of sunlight available for ozone photochemistry. It can be substantial in some cases,” Mallia said. 



“If you’re right over the fire, there’s usually enough smoke shading where it limits the amount of ozone. But if you get far enough away and the plume becomes relatively diffuse, it’s usually not thick enough to really limit ozone.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-better-models-to-forecast-air-quality">Better models to forecast air quality </h2>



With climate change making fires more frequent and intense, the need for accurate models is growing. 



The study suggests that tools like WRF-Sfire and WRF-Chem will be critical for forecasting air quality during wildfire season. But these models need refining to better handle the complex chemistry and weather effects inside smoke plumes.



The message is clear: as wildfires grow in number and strength, ozone pollution will remain a hidden but serious health hazard - one that can reach people far from the flames.



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1352231025003796">Atmospheric Environment</a>.



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Wildfire smoke delivers a 'double hit' to air quality

When wildfires rage, the skies turn dark, the air smells...

We tend to think of gossip as petty or mean-spirited. But in romantic relationships, it might be doing more good than harm. A recent study shows that couples who gossip together often report feeling happier and more connected.



The work comes from psychology researchers at the <a href="https://www.ucr.edu/">University of California, Riverside</a>. 



The team explored whether gossip between partners could play a role in relationship satisfaction and overall well-being - and the results may surprise you.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-gossiping-couples-are-happier">Gossiping couples are happier</h2>



The researchers define gossip simply as talking about someone who isn’t physically present. It’s not automatically negative - it can be lighthearted, supportive, neutral, or critical.



In everyday life, that might mean swapping updates about a mutual friend, sharing an observation about a coworker, or laughing about something a relative did last week.



Chandler Spahr is the lead author of the study, which is the first to examine the dynamics of gossip and well-being within romantic partnerships.



"Whether or not we want to admit it, everyone gossips," said Spahr. "Gossip is ubiquitous."



The team found that gossip wasn’t just idle chatter. Couples’ gossip strongly correlated with <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/where-does-happiness-come-from-it-depends-on-who-you-are/">happiness</a>. It was also tied - though less strongly - to relationship quality.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tracking-gossip-in-daily-life">Tracking gossip in daily life</h2>



The researchers studied 76 same-gender and different-gender couples in Southern California. 



Each participant wore a small listening device called the Electronically Activated Recorder (EAR), which sampled bits of their daily conversations. About 14% of what they said during the day was recorded and analyzed by research assistants.



The recordings revealed that participants spent around 38 minutes a day <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/gossiping-may-actually-be-beneficial-to-society/">gossiping</a>. Of those, about 29 minutes were spent gossiping with their romantic partners. Woman-woman couples had the highest amount of gossip overall.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-same-gender-couples-and-gossip">Same-gender couples and gossip</h2>



While most couples in the study reported high levels of happiness, same-gender couples reported even higher levels than different-gender couples. Woman-woman couples also reported the highest relationship quality.



The findings hint that gossip may work as an emotional glue in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/negative-relationships-linked-to-faster-aging-at-the-cellular-level/">relationships</a>. It’s not just about the content - it’s about the shared moment and mutual understanding that comes from swapping <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dual-promotion-bragging-on-your-co-workers-makes-a-good-impression/">impressions</a> about other people.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-gossip-as-a-bonding-experience">Gossip as a bonding experience </h2>



Megan Robbins, a UCR psychology professor and the paper’s senior author, explained it with a familiar scene: "What do you do in the car? You talk about everybody at the party. Who said what; what's going on with their relationship."



You might comment: Didn’t Veronica look great? Didn’t Joe look awful? Did you sense tension between them?



"Negatively gossiping with one's romantic partner on the way home from a party could signal that the couple's bond is stronger than with their friends at the party, while positively gossiping could prolong the fun experiences," the study authors wrote.



"It may reinforce the perception that partners are 'on the same team,' enhancing feelings of connectedness, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sharing-dark-secrets-can-build-trust-in-relationships/">trust</a>, and other positive relationship qualities, as well as contributing to overall well-being."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-keeping-relationships-in-sync">Keeping relationships in sync</h2>



The researchers suggest that gossip can act as a kind of “social regulation tool.” By talking about others, couples may indirectly set expectations for behavior within their own relationship, creating a shared understanding of what’s acceptable and what’s not.



This isn’t the first time Professor Robbins has examined gossip. In 2019, she published a study - also using EAR technology - that challenged common stereotypes.



The study showed that women do not gossip more negatively than men, people with lower incomes don’t gossip more than wealthier people, and younger people tend to gossip more negatively than older adults.



Gossip can be positive, neutral, or negative. Unlike the 2019 study, this new work didn’t separate gossip into categories - it looked only at the amount and context of gossip between partners.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-more-than-idle-talk">More than idle talk</h2>



The takeaway? Gossip between partners isn’t necessarily toxic. It can be a small but steady way of reinforcing the idea that you and your partner are on the same page.



The next time you and your significant other find yourselves dissecting the latest drama after a night out, you might just be doing something good for your relationship - whether or not you realize it.



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Couples who gossip feel closer and happier

We tend to think of gossip as petty or mean-spirited....

On August 12, the world pauses for one of nature’s most awe-inspiring creatures - the elephant. From the open savannahs of Africa to the lush forests of Asia, these gentle giants are symbols of strength, memory, and family. Yet, behind their calm eyes lies a struggle for survival. 



This year, World Elephant Day is about more than saving a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/elephants-take-more-risks-when-they-live-around-people/">species</a>. It is about protecting their knowledge, relationships, and their place in our shared world.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-land-alone-won-t-save-elephants">Land alone won’t save elephants</h2>



Preserving elephant habitat is vital, but space alone will not keep them alive. <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/elephant-brains-reveal-big-differences-among-species/">Elephants</a> depend on the wisdom of their elders, especially the matriarchs, to make it through the hardest conditions.



These experienced leaders are living maps, carrying decades of memory about where to find water when rivers run dry and which paths will keep the herd away from predators or human danger. Older elephants are the decision-makers in moments when survival depends on choosing the right direction.



When a matriarch is killed by poachers or removed during relocation, the herd loses more than just a member. The group loses its guide and the knowledge that only comes from years of experience. 



Without that leadership, younger elephants are left to guess, often making mistakes that put them at risk.



Calves grow up without learning the skills that once kept the group safe. This kind of loss happens instantly, but the damage lasts for decades. In some cases, it may never be fully repaired, leaving herds more vulnerable with each missing elder.



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



Hotter temperatures and shifting rainfall are changing how <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/elephants-choose-their-paths-carefully-to-conserve-energy/">elephants</a> move. Many end up near farms, especially in East Africa and India. 



Crops like corn and millet are an easy food source, but raiding fields comes at a cost. Farmers can lose an entire season’s harvest in one night.



Sometimes they respond with force. Without smarter planning - safe corridors, better water access, and farming layouts that reduce risk - these clashes will only increase.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-some-elephants-take-more-risks">Some elephants take more risks</h2>



In <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/elephants-take-more-risks-when-they-live-around-people/">Thailand</a>, researchers from the <a href="https://www.gc.cuny.edu/">CUNY Graduate Center</a>&nbsp;looked at elephants living near farms and compared them with those deep in the forest. 



The farm-edge elephants were bolder and more curious. They approached new objects more often and took more risks. This personality difference matters.



Bold elephants are more likely to enter villages or raid crops. If communities know which individuals are most likely to take these risks, they can target early warnings and stronger barriers where they’re needed most.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-technology-is-stepping-in">Technology is stepping in</h2>



In <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/new-era-in-wildlife-conservation-how-ai-will-help-protect-elephants/">Malaysia</a>, scientists built an AI system called PoachNet. It predicts where elephants are likely to be and where they’re most at risk from poachers. The system uses GPS data, movement patterns, and environmental details to guide patrols. 



“PoachNet offers a big improvement in tracking and protecting elephants,” said lead researcher Naeima Hamed from <a href="https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/">Cardiff University</a>. 



For Bornean elephants, with fewer than 1,500 individuals left, this could mean the difference between survival and extinction.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-culture-matters-in-conservation">Culture matters in conservation</h2>



A <a href="https://www.port.ac.uk" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Portsmouth</a> study warns that losing older <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/elephant-culture-could-be-lost-forever-if-elders-disappear/">elephants</a> is more than a numbers problem. 



“Elders are the keepers of knowledge in elephant societies,” said lead author Dr. Lucy Bates. Without them, herds lose their history - migration routes, safe water points, and how to respond to threats.



Young elephants without guidance can become unpredictable and even dangerous. Protecting matriarchs isn’t optional; it’s part of keeping elephant society stable.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-action-on-world-elephant-day">Action on World Elephant Day</h2>



This year, World Elephant Day is not about catchy slogans or a few trending hashtags. It is about real action that combines modern science, new technology, and a deep respect for the way elephants live and pass down their knowledge. 



Protecting them now means looking beyond short-term fixes and focusing on solutions that work for decades to come.



We already know what needs to be done. Keep the matriarchs alive so herds do not lose their leaders. Reduce conflict between elephants and people by creating safe corridors and better farming plans. 



Use smarter tools, like AI systems that can predict poaching risks before they happen. Plan ahead for a changing climate so water and food sources remain accessible even in the harshest seasons.



The choice is straightforward but urgent. Either we make space for elephants - in our landscapes, in our policies, and in our priorities - or we stand by as one of the planet’s most intelligent and socially complex animals disappears before our eyes. The responsibility is ours, and the time to act is now.



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World Elephant Day 2025: Fighting for survival

On August 12, the world pauses for one of nature’s...

Asian,Woman,Scientist,,Researcher,,Technician,,Or,Student,Conducted,Research,Or

Organized, large-scale fraud is quietly infiltrating scientific journals - and it’s growing faster than legitimate research, according to a new study.



Many once thought of these as isolated cases of misconduct by individual researchers, but investigators are now revealing them as a sprawling, coordinated system. It is complete with brokers, hijacked journals, and “paper mills” that churn out fake studies for profit.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-losing-public-trust-in-science">Losing public trust in science</h2>



The researchers behind the study - led by <a href="https://www.northwestern.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Northwestern University</a> - say the scale of the problem threatens to erode <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/public-trust-scientists-varies-depending-on-field/">public trust</a> in science unless action is taken soon.



Their work combines sweeping data analysis with detailed case studies to expose how these fraudulent networks operate and why they are so difficult to stop.



“Science must police itself better to preserve its integrity,” said Luís A. N. Amaral, the study’s senior author. 



“If we do not create awareness around this problem, worse and worse behavior will become normalized. At some point, it will be too late, and scientific literature will become completely poisoned.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-from-isolated-misconduct-to-global-crime">From isolated misconduct to global crime</h2>



People often frame <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/online-romance-fraud-how-scammers-target-their-victims/">fraud</a> in science as the story of one dishonest researcher manipulating data or plagiarizing work.



But Amaral’s team found something much more organized - sophisticated global networks of individuals and entities systematically working together to manipulate the publication process.



“These networks are essentially criminal organizations, acting together to fake the process of science,” Amaral said. “Millions of dollars are involved in these processes.”



The team’s analysis drew on large databases such as <a href="https://access.clarivate.com/login?app=wos&amp;alternative=true&amp;shibShireURL=https:%2F%2Fwww.webofknowledge.com%2F%3Fauth%3DShibboleth&amp;shibReturnURL=https:%2F%2Fwww.webofknowledge.com%2F%3Fapp%3Dwos%26referrer%3Dmode%253DNextgen%2526path%253D%25252Fwos%2526DestApp%253DUA%2526action%253Dtransfer%26authCode%3Dnull%26locale%3Den&amp;referrer=mode%3DNextgen%26path%3D%252Fwos%26DestApp%3DUA%26action%3Dtransfer&amp;roaming=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Web of Science</a>, <a href="https://www.scopus.com/home.uri" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Scopus</a>, and <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">PubMed</a>, along with lists of journals removed from indexing for ethical or quality failures. 



They also examined records of retracted articles, image duplications, and even metadata like editor names and submission timelines.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-booming-business-of-fake-science">The booming business of fake science</h2>



The data revealed the central role of so-called “paper mills” - operations that produce fake science research papers for paying customers. 



Some content fabricates information, plagiarizes text, or uses manipulated images, with certain claims being physically impossible.



“More and more scientists are being caught up in paper mills,” Amaral said. “Not only can they buy papers, but they can buy citations. Then, they can appear like well-reputed scientists when they have barely conducted their own research at all.”



According to first author Reese Richardson, these businesses have multiple models but a common goal: selling prestige.



“They often sell authorship slots for hundreds or even thousands of dollars,” he said. “A person might pay more for the first author position or less for a fourth author position.”



"People can also pay to get papers they have written automatically accepted in a journal through a sham peer-review process.”



Amaral’s group has even developed a system to detect paper mill products, including scanning for suspicious mistakes such as misidentified laboratory instruments. This method has already flagged questionable papers accepted by reputable journals.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-journals-are-hijacked-for-profit">Journals are hijacked for profit</h2>



The investigation also uncovered the brokers who connect every part of the fraud pipeline: the ghostwriters, the paying authors, the willing journals, and even complicit editors.



“You need to find someone to write the paper and find people willing to pay to be the authors," Amaral explained. "You need to find a journal where you can get it all published. And you need editors in that journal who will accept that paper."



In some cases, fraudulent actors skip legitimate journals entirely by taking over the identity of defunct ones. This tactic, known as journal hijacking, gives their publications a veneer of credibility.



“This happened to the journal HIV Nursing,” Richardson said. “It was formerly the journal of a professional nursing organization in the U.K., then it stopped publishing, and its domain lapsed. An organization bought the domain and started publishing thousands of papers on subjects completely unrelated to nursing, all indexed in Scopus.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ai-raises-the-stakes-for-research">AI raises the stakes for research</h2>



The researchers warn that the problem will only get worse with the rise of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/could-generative-ai-go-mad-and-wreck-internet-data/">generative AI</a>, which can produce convincing but false text and data at scale.



“If we're not prepared to deal with the fraud that's already occurring, then we're certainly not prepared to deal with what generative AI can do to scientific literature,” Richardson said.



“We have no clue what's going to end up in the literature, what's going to be regarded as scientific fact and what's going to be used to train future AI models, which then will be used to write more papers.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-protecting-science-from-fake-news">Protecting science from fake news</h2>



To protect the credibility of science from fake research, the authors recommend stronger editorial oversight, better tools to detect fabricated work, and deeper investigation into the networks enabling fraud. They also call for reforming the incentives that drive researchers to pay for publications.



“This study is probably the most depressing project I've been involved with in my entire life,” Amaral said.



“Since I was a kid, I was excited about science. It's distressing to see others engage in fraud and in misleading others. But if you believe that science is useful and important for humanity, then you have to fight for it.”



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2420092122" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>.



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Global fraud networks are flooding science journals with fake studies

Organized, large-scale fraud is quietly infiltrating scientific journals - and...

There’s an entire world beneath our feet - ancient, resilient, and almost unimaginably strange. Over the past two decades, scientists have revealed that Earth’s crust is packed with a living biomass. The microbes persist for hundreds of thousands - even hundreds of millions - of years in places once deemed uninhabitable.



They tolerate boiling heat, extreme acidity, and bleach-like chemistry; some “breathe” metals; many exist at energy levels so low they barely scrape by. This is the realm geobiologist Karen Lloyd explores - a hidden biosphere that is forcing us to rethink what life is and how it endures.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-collecting-microbes-on-the-edge">Collecting microbes on the edge</h2>



Eight years ago, Lloyd stood on the rim of Costa Rica’s Poás Volcano, peering into a churning, acid-filled crater while collecting samples of deep <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/groundwater-plays-critical-role-ecosystem-health/">groundwater</a> brought to the surface by tectonic forces. The scene was otherworldly.



She turned to a local collaborator and asked, “What's our exit strategy again if this thing goes off?” His answer - “Just turn around and admire the view. Because it's going to be the last one you'll ever see” - landed somewhere between gallows humor and practical advice.



Less than two months later, Poás erupted in Costa Rica’s most serious <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-volcanic-eruptions-cooled-the-planet-800-years-ago/">volcanic eruption</a> in over 60 years. The samples survived - and so did the science.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-chasing-microbes-underground">Chasing microbes underground</h2>



Lloyd, a professor of Earth sciences at the <a href="https://www.usc.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Southern California</a>, is part of a global effort that has made the subsurface biosphere impossible to ignore.



“Overcoming the challenges of sample contamination to find conclusive proof took years of painstaking work, but the evidence is now overwhelming,” Lloyd said.



“These deep-life microbes are real. They're alive and they have decidedly weird lifestyles - doing strange, fascinating things we're only just beginning to understand.”



Her field sites are natural windows into the deep. They include rift basins in the American Southwest that tug ancient fluids upward. She also studies volcanic hot zones in Iceland and New Zealand. 



In addition, she works in subduction settings in Costa Rica and the Andes, where Earth wrings old groundwater toward the surface like a soaked cloth. Each locale presents a different chemistry - and a fresh chance to catch deep life in the act.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-time-capsules-in-seafloor-mud"><a></a>Time capsules in seafloor mud</h2>



Some of the most revealing clues come from beneath the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/99-percent-of-the-deep-ocean-floor-has-still-never-been-seen-by-humans/">ocean floor</a>. Lloyd’s team uses drills, push cores, and submersibles to retrieve columns of mud, then slices them layer by layer to track how <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/microbial-life-soil-planet-warming-global-carbon-cycle/">microbial life</a> changes with depth and time.



"Imagine being one of those cells: you settle out of the water column with a slow rain of dead plankton and dust, get buried grain by grain, and then…wait. For millennia. For eons," Lloyd said.



“And you keep living for all that time,” she said. “These are not lively lives. There's not enough energy down there to reproduce. But they persist - barely - metabolizing just enough to survive.”



Genetically, these microbes are extraordinarily diverse - far more so than most visible creatures at the surface. Many lineages diverged billions of years ago, making the evolutionary distance between, say, a human and a jellyfish look like a weekend road trip by comparison.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-underground-microbes-that-breathe-metals">Underground microbes that breathe metals</h2>



What sets subsurface life apart is how it gets energy. “Most visible life on Earth either respires oxygen, ferments, or photosynthesizes - and that's it,” Lloyd explained.



“But some species of subsurface life can 'breathe' every metal on the periodic table, including arsenic, while others breathe carbon dioxide.”



In practice, “breathing” here means using redox reactions - electron exchanges - to power the cell, often without oxygen. 



Remarkably, metal-breathing shows up across distantly related branches of the tree of life, a testament to how evolution finds similar solutions in very different bodies.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-big-potential-in-tiny-microbes">Big potential in tiny microbes</h2>



This isn’t just esoteric biology - the weirdness of deep life could translate into tools we need. 



One of Lloyd’s collaborators, Andrew Steen, is studying whether protein-stabilizing tricks from these microbes might help <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/covid-vaccine-strategy-paid-off-and-its-still-saving-lives/">vaccines</a> remain potent without refrigeration, which could be transformative for global health.



In Costa Rica, Lloyd’s team also helped explain a nagging climate puzzle: why volcanoes emit huge plumes of CO₂ while hot springs in the same region release only trickles. 



The culprit appears to be subsurface chemistry and microbes that convert CO₂ into carbonate minerals, locking carbon into rock before it escapes - an insight that could bolster <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/carbon-storage-mystery-emerges-in-the-southern-ocean/">carbon storage</a> strategies.



In some conditions underground, microbes can even turn CO₂ into methane, a usable fuel (though one with climate trade-offs).



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-new-field-of-geobiochemistry">A new field of geobiochemistry</h2>



For Lloyd, the point isn’t to chase products - it’s to push the frontier. “I'm not looking for any particular solution or benefit,” she said. “My goal is to push the boundaries of what we know to best provide for other people who are doing practical stuff. That's the promise of blue-sky research.”



Still, the horizon looks promising. “If we can make such a big breakthrough from just one study, then imagine what else is waiting to be discovered down there,” Lloyd said. 



“This new field of geobiochemistry is going to have huge implications - maybe even predicting earthquakes or finding life beyond our planet.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-clues-for-finding-alien-life">Clues for finding alien life</h2>



The subsurface biosphere reframes our assumptions about life’s requirements: abundant energy, fast growth, sunlight.



The underground microbes suggests another path - slow metabolism, fierce patience, astonishing adaptability. It opens new chapters in our understanding of evolution, the carbon cycle, and the possible habitats of life on other worlds where energy is scarce and time is long.



“Life buried deep within Earth's crust may seem irrelevant to our daily lives,” said Lloyd. “But this weird, slow life may hold the answers to some of our planet's greatest mysteries - and challenges.”



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Microbes buried for millions of years may guide the search for alien life

There’s an entire world beneath our feet - ancient, resilient,...

<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2E0mn5mTvhQ
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">'Death Star' moon Mimas conceals a 15-million-year-old ocean that scientists never expected.</figcaption></figure>



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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Worms dominated seas before dinosaurs

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



The full study was published in the journal Current Biology.



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Earth's oldest forest found in the United States

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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The environmental problem we actually solved

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

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

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







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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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What to plant in your garden in mid-July

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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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Wildlife tunnels save millions of amphibians

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Is chocolate the next nutritional powerhouse?

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

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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

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

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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