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...

The air can look clear and still carry a problem. Across the United States, ozone has been linked to lower chances of survival for some trees, and a new analysis finally shows how much risk different species face.



Researchers paired long term forest records with measured exposure to tropospheric ozone to set species specific thresholds for harm. The <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2024JD042063" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">study</a> spans 88 species and roughly 1.5 million trees, a scale that moves the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/the-ozone-layer-is-healing-will-the-hole-disappear-for-good/">conversation</a> beyond seedlings and lab chambers.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-study-on-ozone-pollution">Study on ozone pollution</h2>



Nathan Pavlovic of Sonoma Technology Inc. and Charles Driscoll of <a href="https://www.syracuse.edu/">Syracuse University</a> brought together forest inventory data and air quality archives to estimate how exposure links to slower growth and lower <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/earths-ozone-layer-took-more-than-two-billion-years-to-stabilize/">survival</a>. Their team focused on mature trees observed in place, not seedlings in controlled settings.



Earlier work in the United States leaned heavily on seedling experiments, including a 16 species synthesis that set response curves for biomass loss. That seedling paper became a touchstone, but it could not tell us how older trees respond after decades in the field.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ozone-effects-on-tree-survival">Ozone effects on tree survival</h2>



The team used the concept of a critical level to summarize risk, the exposure at which a defined drop in growth or survival appears. 



The researchers expressed <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/rocket-launches-threaten-earths-ozone-recovery/">exposure</a> with “W126,” a cumulative, summertime-weighted metric for ozone exposure that emphasizes higher concentrations during daylight hours, reflecting their greater potential to damage vegetation.



They modeled growth and 10 year survival separately, which matters because a small shift in survival compounds over a century long rotation. The paper reports species specific W126 levels for a 5 percent drop in growth and a 1 percent drop in survival, allowing managers to see which trees blink first.



The numbers they put forth sit in a wider policy context. The <a href="https://www3.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/standards/ozone/data/20141021welfarereaexec.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">EPA</a> has long evaluated vegetation protection using W126 in its welfare reviews, and its advisory panel, CASAC, has considered thresholds associated with 1 to 2 percent biomass loss in trees when weighing secondary standards.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ozone-impact-in-west-vs-east">Ozone impact in west vs east</h2>



“Recently (2016-2018), portions of the western United States exceeded O3 CLs (or ozone critical levels, are the exposure thresholds at which a specific percentage decline in tree growth or survival is expected to occur) for nearly all tree species for both growth and survival,” wrote Pavlovic and colleagues.The clearest pattern appears west of the Rockies.&nbsp;



In the East, the analysis found little evidence of widespread growth impacts at current levels, with survival effects limited to sensitive species and pockets with higher exposure. 



That picture is consistent with national monitoring <a href="https://acp.copernicus.org/articles/25/5101/2025/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">records</a> showing strong declines in extreme ozone across the eastern United States since the 2000s.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-seedlings-versus-mature-trees">Seedlings versus mature trees</h2>



Seedling studies provide clean experiments, but they cannot fully replicate heat, drought, soil variation, and competition in mature stands. The earlier 16 species seedling synthesis captured broad sensitivity classes, yet some species that look tolerant in chambers can be more vulnerable in place when ozone stacks with water stress and heat.



The new analysis, by design, keeps those mediating factors in the model to produce field relevant <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ozone-pollution-may-endanger-millions-by-2050/">exposure</a> thresholds. 



That makes the species list more useful for foresters weighing which coniferous evergreens to plant and where deciduous hardwoods may hold up better under ozone.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-this-means-for-forests-and-policy">What this means for forests and policy</h2>



A practical use case is simple. If a county’s summertime W126 sits above a species’ survival threshold, managers can alter planting mixes, accelerate thinning, or shift regeneration toward less sensitive species that still meet ecological goals.



Policy makers face a different question. Secondary ozone standards under the <a href="https://www.epa.gov/laws-regulations/summary-clean-air-act" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Clean Air Act</a> are meant to protect crops, materials, and ecosystems, but the current form, built around an eight-hour human health metric, does not map neatly to vegetation outcomes that depend on seasonal accumulation.



Internationally, Europe often reports <a href="https://library.wmo.int/viewer/68654/download?file=1341_Quantifying-impacts-Ozone_en.pdf&amp;navigator=1&amp;type=pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">AOT40</a> exceedance while the United States leans on W126, and scientific bodies favor flux based vegetation metrics that track uptake. That split underscores why an ecosystem specific exposure metric remains important in any standard that intends to protect living landscapes.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ozone-pollution-and-tree-survival">Ozone pollution and tree survival</h2>



No single metric captures every pathway to damage, and W126 emphasizes summertime peaks that matter a great deal for crops. The longer growing seasons of evergreen conifers can raise cumulative uptake, which may help explain why western forests emerge as more sensitive in the new maps.



Uncertainty also comes from interpolation in places with sparse rural monitors, from wildfire smoke chemistry, and from how drought changes stomatal behavior. Even so, the thresholds offer a practical yardstick that can be updated as monitoring improves and as exposure models evolve.



The broader science keeps moving, including new Earth system model schemes that better represent ozone injury to photosynthesis and water use. 



Better process representation should make regional carbon and climate projections more realistic, and helps translate exposure reductions into real ecological gains.



The study is published in <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2024JD042063" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres</a>.



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Ozone pollution threatens tree survival across western U.S.

The air can look clear and still carry a problem....

As Greenland’s massive ice sheet continues to melt, it’s not just raising sea levels. The melting ice is also stirring up the ocean in ways that may be feeding tiny organisms at the base of the marine food chain.



The study behind this discovery comes from a team of scientists at <a href="https://www.sjsu.edu/">San José State University</a>, working in partnership with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 



Using powerful supercomputers and an advanced ocean simulation tool, the experts have shown how runoff from Greenland’s ice sheet may be helping <a href="https://www.earth.com/image/spectacular-phytoplankton-bloom-in-the-north-atlantic/">phytoplankton</a> thrive. These tiny, plantlike organisms are critical to life in the ocean - and to the planet’s climate.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-melting-ice-is-feeding-the-ocean">Melting ice is feeding the ocean</h2>



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/hidden-lake-explodes-under-greenland-ice-creating-a-massive-crater-harder-glacier/">Greenland’s ice sheet</a>, which is over a mile thick in places, is losing around 293 billion tons of ice each year. In the summer, meltwater pours into the sea at astonishing rates. 



From the base of Jakobshavn Glacier (also known as Sermeq Kujalleq), more than 300,000 gallons of fresh water enter the ocean every second.



This freshwater doesn’t just disappear. It creates a plume that rises up through the saltwater, and as it does, it appears to carry nutrients from deep in the ocean toward the surface. 



Scientists have long suspected that this upwelling may help feed phytoplankton, especially during the summer when surface nutrients run low.



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



Phytoplankton play a big role in Earth’s systems. They absorb carbon dioxide and form the base of the food web for everything from <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/antarctic-krill-keep-time-in-a-world-of-endless-days-or-nights/">krill</a> to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/humpback-whales-now-migrate-weeks-early-signaling-big-ocean-changes/">whales</a>. Despite being microscopic, they’re essential to marine ecosystems across the globe.



NASA satellite data has shown a 57% increase in phytoplankton growth in the Arctic between 1998 and 2018. 



The timing of this growth spike led researchers to think glacial melt might be part of the reason. But proving it has been difficult, especially in Greenland’s remote, iceberg-filled fjords.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-hidden-ocean-world">A hidden ocean world</h2>



Dustin Carroll is an oceanographer at San José State University who is also affiliated with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California.



“We were faced with this classic problem of trying to understand a system that is so remote and buried beneath ice,” said Carroll. “We needed a gem of a computer model to help.”



The model came in the form of ECCO-Darwin, a tool developed at JPL and MIT. It’s been described as a virtual ocean laboratory. 



This tool pulls together decades of data - billions of measurements from satellites and ocean instruments - to simulate how water, heat, salt, nutrients, and life interact across the globe.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-meltwater-and-phytoplankton-growth">Meltwater and phytoplankton growth</h2>



Michael Wood, a computational oceanographer at San José State University, noted that simulating how biology, chemistry, and physics interact in just one corner of Greenland’s 27,000-mile coastline is an enormous mathematical challenge. 



Wood said that to break it down, they built a "model within a model within a model" to zoom in on the details of the fjord at the foot of the glacier.



The calculations, run on NASA’s supercomputers in Silicon Valley, showed that glacial meltwater could increase summer phytoplankton growth by 15 to 40% in the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/arctic-fjords-show-signs-of-struggle-in-a-warming-world/">fjord</a> they studied.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-more-ice-more-impact">More ice, more impact</h2>



It’s too soon to say exactly what this means for Greenland’s marine ecosystems, but it’s clear that changes in the ice are driving changes in the water.



“Melt on the Greenland ice sheet is projected to accelerate in coming decades, affecting everything from sea level and land vegetation to the saltiness of coastal waters,” Carroll said.



“We reconstructed what’s happening in one key system, but there’s more than 250 such glaciers around Greenland.” The team plans to expand their simulations to other coastal areas.



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



The researchers also looked at how these changes affect the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/satellites-reveal-how-oceans-absorb-carbon-in-unprecedented-detail/">ocean’s ability to absorb carbon dioxide</a>. In the fjord, meltwater makes the seawater less able to dissolve carbon. 



But that loss seems to be canceled out by the larger phytoplankton blooms, which take in more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through photosynthesis.



“We didn’t build these tools for one specific application,” said Wood. “Our approach is applicable to any region, from the Texas Gulf to Alaska. Like a Swiss Army knife, we can apply it to lots of different scenarios.”



Image Credit: NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio



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How Greenland’s melting ice fuels ocean life

As Greenland’s massive ice sheet continues to melt, it’s not...

For flowering plants, the choice of a visiting insect or bird can be a matter of evolutionary life or death. A recent study reveals that even brief mismatches between when flowers bloom and when pollinators arrive can flip the direction of natural selection, favoring one floral form one week and a different form the next.



The work, led by biologist Liedson Carneiro from <a href="https://www.etsu.edu/ehome/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">East Tennessee State University</a>, shows how fast these “rules” can change inside a single <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/flowers-blooming-92-days-earlier-due-to-climate-change/">flowering season</a> - and hints at what may lie ahead in a warming world.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-no-bees-no-seeds">No bees, no seeds</h2>



The team focused on an oil-producing vine - nicknamed the Amazonvine - that climbs through Brazil’s dry <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/tropical-forests-have-strategies-to-survive-in-nutrient-poor-soils/">tropical forests</a>. The vine cannot self-pollinate; it relies on specialized oil-collecting <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/bees-do-not-learn-to-be-cooperative-it-is-in-their-genes/">bees</a> that grasp the petals, extend their legs, and scrape off nutrient-rich floral oils. 



Those fingerprints - tiny scrapes on the petal surface - let researchers track exactly which flowers were visited and when.



The fieldwork took place in Parque Nacional do Catimbau, Pernambuco, during the species’ 2020 flowering season. Two snapshots were taken: an early census during the vine’s normal bloom peak and a second one four weeks later.



The contrast was stark. At the first visit more than 100 flowers were open, yet bee traffic was nearly absent. By the second survey, pollinator activity had surged. Ninety-four percent of late-blooming flowers bore the telltale scrape marks, compared with just 7.5 percent at peak bloom.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-bees-flip-flower-priorities">Bees flip flower priorities</h2>



Because flowers leave seeds only if they receive <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/pollen-alters-cloud-formation-and-changes-weather-patterns/">pollen</a>, the researchers could link each plant’s “fitness” to its floral display. 



During the quiet early period, vines with the largest blossoms set the most fruit: bees apparently chose the biggest targets on their rare visits.



A month later, the tables turned. With bees everywhere, plants bearing smaller flowers now produced more seeds. When every blossom attracted attention, the value of extra-large petals evaporated; large flowers may even have cost the plant energy that could have gone into seed production.



Statistical models showed the relationship between flower size and fitness did not merely weaken - it actually reversed direction between the two censuses. 



Averaged over the entire season, the contradictory pulses canceled each other, leaving only weak overall selection on blossom size.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-evolution-in-real-time"><a></a>Evolution in real time</h2>



The results matter because they confirm that evolutionary pressures can flip within weeks, not millennia.



“Our findings show that even within a single flowering season, temporal mismatches between plants and pollinators can shift how traits like flower size relate to reproductive success,” Carneiro said.



“These short-term dynamics may influence <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/evolutions-many-solutions-nature-finds-multiple-paths-to-success/">evolutionary outcomes</a>, help maintain trait diversity, and prevent rapid trait change in plant populations.”



That diversity can be a long-term boon, giving populations a preexisting mix of shapes and strategies to weather future shifts. But it also means conservationists cannot assume pollination patterns seen on one date will hold the following month - let alone the following year.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-climate-disrupts-pollinator-timing">Climate disrupts pollinator timing</h2>



Much discussion of plant-pollinator mismatches focuses on year-to-year effects: warming springs coax flowers to open earlier, while migrating hummingbirds and overwintering bees may lag behind.



The new study adds another layer of concern. In regions where rainfall, temperature, or day length fluctuate sharply over a few weeks, the “sweet spot” of overlap can shrink even inside one season.



If climate change makes those swings more extreme - stronger droughts, heavier downpours, hotter <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-has-made-heatwaves-more-deadly/">heatwaves</a> - then the brief windows of perfect synchronization could become rarer.



In the Brazilian vine, peak bloom arrived before most bees became active. In other species, pollinators might appear before nectar flows. Either way, the study illustrates that a plant’s evolutionary trajectory can hinge on such timing errors.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-timing-insights-for-conservation">Timing insights for conservation</h2>



The research also highlights the value of detailed field observation. By sampling the same population twice, the scientists captured a live-action picture of selection that would have been invisible in a single survey. 



For ecologists monitoring threatened habitats, revisiting plots through the season could reveal hidden stresses - or hidden resilience.



In practical terms, knowing how selection fluctuates could guide which genotypes to conserve or propagate in restoration projects.



If climate change is likely to lengthen dry spells, for example, managers might favor individuals whose floral schedules naturally lags behind the average, ensuring flowers and bees still meet.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-bees-and-flowers-misaligned">Bees and flowers misaligned</h2>



Plant-pollinator partnerships are often portrayed as timeless mutualisms, but they are, in fact, dynamic negotiations subject to abrupt renegotiation.



The new work from northeastern Brazil delivers a clear message: evolution does not wait for the next <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/lessons-from-the-ice-age-how-climate-change-reshapes-plant-life/">Ice Age</a>. It is happening now, blossom by blossom, as flowers and their faithful couriers dance to a rhythm increasingly disrupted by a changing climate.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://academic.oup.com/aob/advance-article/doi/10.1093/aob/mcaf126/8222357?login=false" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Annals of Botany</a>.



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When bees arrive late, flowers may vanish

For flowering plants, the choice of a visiting insect or...

In 2014, a team of neuroscientists stumbled upon a puzzling minority: people who hear music perfectly well but feel nothing when a favorite song comes on. Their discovery - now called specific musical anhedonia - proved that the emotional rush most of us take for granted is not universal.



A new review led by the <a href="https://web.ub.edu/web/ub/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Barcelona</a> revisits the condition after ten years of laboratory tests, brain scans, and surveys, piecing together how a faulty line of communication inside the brain severs melody from reward.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-testing-music-s-reward-link">Testing music’s reward link</h2>



To pinpoint musical anhedonia, the Barcelona team created the <a href="https://www.brainvitge.org/bmrq_eng.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Barcelona Music Reward Questionnaire</a> (BMRQ). 



This short inventory probes five dimensions of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/some-people-are-born-to-enjoy-music-more-than-others/">musical enjoyment</a>: emotional response; mood regulation; social bonding; movement and dance; and the thrill of novelty or collecting new tracks.



People who are musically anhedonic score very low across all five areas, yet they show normal reactions to other rewarding activities - whether savoring a dessert, laughing with friends, or winning a small cash prize.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-when-sound-meets-no-reward">When sound meets no reward</h2>



Functional MRI studies soon zeroed in on a wiring problem rather than a global deficit. While listening to music, musically anhedonic participants exhibited normal activation in auditory circuits - the brain regions that decode pitch, rhythm, and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/our-brain-doesnt-just-hear-music-it-becomes-the-rhythm/">harmony</a>. 



However, they showed muted activation in the reward circuit that lights up for food, sex, money, or art. Crucially, the same reward circuit fired just fine when those participants experienced non-musical rewards.



“This lack of pleasure for music is explained by disconnectivity between the reward circuit and the auditory network - not by the functioning of their reward circuit, per se," explained study lead author Josep Marco-Pallarés.



Study co-author Ernest Mas-Herrero added that pleasure depends on linkage, not just circuitry strength. “If the reward circuit is not working well, you get less pleasure from all kinds of rewards."



"Here, what we point out is that it might be not only the engagement of this circuitry that is important but also how it interacts with other brain regions that are relevant for the processing of each reward type."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-nature-nurture-or-both"><a></a>Nature, nurture, or both?</h2>



Why the connection breaks down in roughly three to five percent of listeners remains open. 



Twin studies published this year suggest heritability could explain about 54 percent of musical-pleasure sensitivity.



Environment might supply the rest: early musical exposure, cultural context, or even a single formative experience could shape wiring between auditory and reward hubs. Researchers are now collaborating with geneticists to hunt for alleles linked to the trait.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-not-just-about-music">Not just about music</h2>



Traditional neuroscience has often treated the reward system as a master switch - either on in people who enjoy life, or dimmed in those with <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/young-adult-depression-linked-to-worse-memory-skills/">depression</a>, addiction, or generalized anhedonia. The new study challenges that simplification.



“A similar mechanism could underlie individual differences in responses to other rewarding stimuli,” Marco-Pallarés said.



If so, there may be undiscovered cousins of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/why-your-body-moves-to-music-even-if-you-dont-enjoy-it/">musical anhedonia</a>: food anhedonia, social-touch anhedonia, even exercise anhedonia. Each could reflect a different miswired bridge between sensory processors and the same dopamine-rich reward circuit.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-testing-touch-taste-and-movement">Testing touch, taste, and movement</h2>



To test that broader theory, scientists will deploy the same playbook: develop stimulus-specific questionnaires, scan people’s brains while they taste, touch, or run, and see whether a subgroup shows selective pleasure deficits.



If found, those patterns could offer fresh insight into <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/zapping-the-brain-with-ultrasound-waves-may-cure-drug-addiction/">addiction</a> (hyper wiring for certain rewards), eating disorders, or behavioral addictions like compulsive gaming - conditions where one reward dominates at the expense of others.



Back in Barcelona, the team also wants to know whether musical anhedonia is fixed or fluid. Does the disconnect fade with time, training, or neuromodulation?



Could curated playlists, rhythmic movement therapies, or even non-invasive brain stimulation coax the auditory and reward networks to sync? Clinical trials are still on the horizon, but the roadmap is clearer than ever.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-music-isn-t-pleasure-for-all">Music isn't pleasure for all</h2>



Understanding specific musical anhedonia is not just a curiosity about tone-deaf brains. It highlights the individual mosaics of pleasure that define human experience.



One person may feel a crescendo deeply while another just shrugs - and that difference could stem from identifiable neural pathways. As precision medicine advances, mental health interventions may one day target those pathways, dialing up deficient connections or quieting runaway ones.



For now, the research invites a moment of gratitude the next time a song gives you chills. Somewhere else, a perfectly functioning pair of ears registers every note - yet the heart remains unmoved. 



By charting that silent gap, neuroscientists hope to map the full topography of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/happiness-beyond-wealth-some-communities-find-joy-in-simplicity/">human joy</a>, from booming stereos to empty plates. 



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/trends/cognitive-sciences/fulltext/S1364-6613(25)00178-0" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Trends in Cognitive Sciences</a>



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Music and the mind: New clues about how we experience pleasure

In 2014, a team of neuroscientists stumbled upon a puzzling...

Families leave fingerprints on voices in every culture, yet few researchers had checked if that pattern holds with wild chimpanzee mothers and their offspring. 



A new field study says it does, and the clue is in the way apes braid sounds with tiny shifts of body and gaze.



The authors spent months with one Ugandan community and discovered that a youngster’s communication “accent” almost always matches the maternal line, not the paternal one. 



<a href="https://www.iea.uzh.ch/en/members/guestresearchers/josephmine.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Joseph Mine</a> of the <a href="https://www.uzh.ch/en.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Zurich</a> and colleagues report the <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3003270" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">findings</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-studying-chimps-and-their-mothers">Studying chimps and their mothers</h2>



The research unfolded in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kibale_National_Park" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Kibale National Park</a>, a mosaic of rainforest and grassland covering about six square miles of chimp range. 



Twenty-two <a href="https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Pan_troglodytes/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Pan troglodytes</a> older than ten were followed from dawn to dusk while observers captured every vocalization on high-definition video.



Grunts, pant hoots, barks, and whimpers by <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/world-chimpanzee-day-2025-protecting-our-closest-relatives/">chimps</a> and their mothers were cataloged alongside arm waves, posture changes, and eye direction, generating over one hundred distinct vocal-visual pairings. Custom software then counted combinations from 210 communication events.



Bouts could last from a single second to about a minute, and the team noted that longer calls often carried more accompanying signals. 



Even after controlling for call duration, kin related through mothers still produced strikingly similar combination rates, while paternal kin did not.



When the data were plotted against the family tree, tight matriline clusters appeared, whereas paternal relatives scattered like tossed seeds. That neat divide suggested learning, not genes, was steering the communication style.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-chimps-learn-from-mothers">What chimps learn from mothers</h2>



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/what-aging-chimpanzees-can-teach-us-about-ourselves/">Chimp</a> calls may sound repetitive to outsiders, but meaning changes with context. A low grunt plus a relaxed shoulder invites cooperation, the same sound paired with a rigid stare warns rivals to back off.



“What we see is that certain chimpanzee mothers tend to produce many vocal visual combinations, while others produce few, and the offspring end up behaving like the mothers,” said Mine. 



Mothers spend thousands of hours within arm’s reach of their offspring, offering a nonstop master class in timing and emphasis. 



The influence lasts well into adolescence: every subject in the study had passed ten years of age, yet still reflected the maternal template. 



Such durability mirrors tool use traditions, nest building tricks, and foraging routes that young chimps pick up from mom and keep for life.



Humans follow a similar path. Brain imaging <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15496861/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">work</a> shows that infants’ auditory maps sharpen in direct response to speech from caregivers, underscoring the power of social tutoring during the first year of life.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-chimps-don-t-copy-fathers">Why chimps don’t copy fathers</h2>



Male <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/social-curiosity-starts-young-and-helps-us-survive/">chimpanzees</a> patrol borders, join hunting parties, and spend nights in separate trees, limiting close range contact with infants. With few intimate moments to watch dad gesture, youngsters have little chance to copy his style.



Genetics offers no easy alternative. Maternal and paternal kin share similar fractions of DNA, and the vocal apparatus does not differ by parentage. Mine’s group even considered X linked inheritance yet found no sex bias in the pattern.



The maternal stamp shows up in other behaviors as well. A <a href="https://www.harvard.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Harvard University</a> team <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(16)31054-5?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS0960982216310545%3Fshowall%3Dtrue" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">showed</a> that only lineages whose mothers clasped hands overhead during grooming kept doing so decades after the elder female died.



Intriguingly, some theories suggest that mitochondria or sex chromosomes could influence brain circuits for communication, but these ideas predict stronger mother son resemblance than mother daughter, which the new data do not support.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-lessons-for-human-language">Lessons for human language</h2>



Face to face conversation is not just words. Medical education <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6127604/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">data</a> place verbal content at roughly seven percent of the total signal, with tone and body language conveying the rest. 



The findings remind us why chimps and toddlers learn from their mothers as they watch lips, hands, and posture as closely as they listen.



“In humans, body language includes hand gestures and facial expressions, but also many subtle behaviours, like shifts in posture and gaze direction,” noted Simon Townsend, a senior author.&nbsp;



Gesture vocabularies differ across cultures, from the Italian hand pinch to the American thumbs up, showing that social learning sculpts non verbal codes in our species as surely as it does in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/chimpanzees-use-rhythmic-drumming-to-communicate-in-forests/">chimps</a>.



Recognizing gestures as learned may even aid conservationists. Playback experiments that rely only on audio could miss half the picture, potentially stressing animals by stripping away the visual layer that normally softens or sharpens a call’s intent.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-other-chimp-studies-found">What other chimp studies found</h2>



Evidence for vocal learning in apes was once considered thin. Early work focused on fixed call repertoires, yet modern recordings reveal surprising flexibility.



In Côte d’Ivoire, neighboring communities craft distinct pant hoot accents even when habitat and diet match closely, <a href="https://www.eva.mpg.de/documents/Wiley-Blackwell/Crockford_Wild_Ethology_2004_1555595.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">suggesting</a> they tweak calls to flag group identity.



Captive <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3391466/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">experiments</a> add another layer: one colony invented a novel food grunt that swept through the enclosure within weeks, proving how quickly social transmission can reshape signals.



Fresh <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9845976/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">data</a> also show chimps using gestures to coordinate a cultural ritual called grooming handclasp, where partners raise arms and clasp hands overhead. 



Researchers found that silent gestures triggered the move in 44 percent of cases, confirming that body language can lead group traditions.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-chimps-mothers-and-language">Chimps, mothers, and language</h2>



If a chimp can pick up a gestural dialect from mom, the roots of human speech may reach deeper into evolutionary history than textbooks once claimed. 



Socially learned communication could have begun as a simple maternal bond and later expanded into the complex phonetic systems humans wield today.



“The next exciting step will be to see if offspring are learning certain types of visual vocal combinations from their mothers, in addition to the number of visual behaviours they produce when they vocalise,” said <a href="https://www.york.ac.uk/psychology/staff/academicstaff/ks553/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Katie Slocombe</a>, University of York.



Long term projects across multiple sites will be essential. Comparative work with bonobos, whose social order differs markedly from chimps, could reveal whether maternal imprinting is a great ape signature or a chimpanzee specialty.



Cultural historians of language note that every human generation puts its own twist on speech, slang, and cadence. 



The new ape data suggest that this creative cycle may have started millions of years before the first words were spoken.



The study is published in <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3003270" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">PLOS Biology</a>.



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Young chimps develop 'accents' in their communication language just like humans

Families leave fingerprints on voices in every culture, yet few...

A previously unknown Jurassic sea reptile has been uncovered from Germany's renowned Posidonia Shale fossil beds. The discovery sheds new light on the oceans around about 183 million years ago.



Scientists at the <a href="https://namu-ev.de/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Naturkunde‑Museum Bielefeld</a>, working with colleagues from the Polish Academy of Sciences, examined a nearly complete skeleton that has preserved traces of soft tissue.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-sea-creature-with-distinctive-features">Sea creature with distinctive features</h2>



While unearthed back in 1978 from Holzmaden quarry, the distinctive aspects of the fossil have been overlooked.



“This specimen has been in collections for decades, but previous studies never fully explored its distinctive anatomy,” said Sven Sachs, lead author of the study. 



“Our detailed examination revealed an unusual combination of skeletal features that clearly distinguish it from all previously known plesiosaurs.”



The species has been named Plesionectes longicollum, which translates to long‑necked near‑swimmer." The creature represents a new species within the plesiosauroid group - a lineage of long‑necked marine reptiles that sailed Earth’s seas during the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mammal-social-behavior-dates-back-to-the-age-of-dinosaurs/">age of dinosaurs</a>.



Despite representing an immature individual, the fossils’ anatomical traits were pronounced enough to confirm a new genus and species.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-are-plesiosaurs">What are plesiosaurs?</h2>



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/plesiosaur-fossils-are-the-first-evidence-of-jurassic-vertebrates-in-texas/">Plesiosaurs</a> were marine reptiles that lived during the time of the dinosaurs. They first appeared in the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-did-not-impact-dinosaur-abundance-in-the-triassic/">Late Triassic</a> and became especially common in the Jurassic period. These animals lived in oceans all over the world and could grow to impressive sizes.



There are two major body types among plesiosaurs. Some had small heads, long necks, and wide bodies with four flippers - like the newly identified Plesionectes longicollum. 



Others had shorter necks, larger heads, and strong jaws built for powerful bites. Both types were excellent swimmers, using their flippers to glide through water in a motion similar to underwater flying.



They likely fed on fish, squid, and other small marine creatures. Their fossils have been found on every continent, which shows how widespread they were. 



Despite their success, plesiosaurs eventually went extinct at the end of the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/discovery-of-a-cretaceous-ostrich-mexidracon-longimanus-with-extremely-long-arms/">Cretaceous</a> period - around the same time as the dinosaurs.



This makes every new discovery, like Plesionectes longicollum, important for understanding how these animals lived, evolved, and fit into ancient ocean ecosystems.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-insights-from-the-jurassic-reptile">Insights from the Jurassic reptile</h2>



This reptile is now the oldest known plesiosaur from the Holzmaden region. The study shows that the Posidonia Shale holds even more diversity than scientists realized. 



Although other plesiosaurs have been found in the same formation - five in total from all three major plesiosaur lineages - this new specimen reveals yet another branch on the family tree of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/jurassic-dinosaurs-had-specialized-diets-to-coexist-peacefully/">Jurassic</a> marine life.



“This discovery adds another piece to the puzzle of marine ecosystem evolution during a critical time in Earth's history,” explained Dr. Daniel Madzia of the Polish Academy of Sciences. 



“The early <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/global-warming-mass-extinctions/">Toarcian</a> period when this animal lived was marked by significant environmental changes, including a major oceanic anoxic event that affected marine life worldwide.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-fossils-like-this-still-matter">Why fossils like this still matter</h2>



Uncovering a new species is always exciting - but what makes the Plesionectes longicollum fossil even more remarkable is how it reminds us that science is always evolving.



Museum collections everywhere contain thousands of specimens that were tagged, shelved, and perhaps forgotten for years. As instrumentation improves and new questions are asked, these old discoveries can gain new significance.



Re-examining fossils with modern techniques allows scientists to spot differences that might have been missed before. 



In this case, those differences were enough to rewrite part of the plesiosaur family tree. The research shows how much we still have to learn - not just from new digs, but from existing collections.



Fossils like this one offer more than a glimpse into extinct species - they provide insight into how life adapted to past climate shifts, ocean changes, and extinction events. Ultimately, they help scientists better anticipate how modern ecosystems might respond to the environmental challenges we face today.



The Plesionectes longicollum fossil - catalogued as specimen SMNS 51945 - is on permanent display at the Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde Stuttgart (Stuttgart State Museum of Natural History).



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://peerj.com/articles/19665/">PeerJ</a>.



Image Credit: Peter Nickolaus



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Jurassic fossil reveals a long-necked sea monster

A previously unknown Jurassic sea reptile has been uncovered from...

Why did our earliest ancestors begin walking upright? For decades, the textbook answer pointed to shrinking trees and widening grasslands. 



As East Africa dried out, the story went, apes were forced onto open ground, and two-legged strides proved more efficient than knuckle-walking over the hot savanna.



Yet fossil ankles and finger bones tell a more complicated tale. Some of the first hominins able to stand tall - species such as Ardipithecus and Australopithecus - still carried shoulders, curved fingers, and flexible feet ideal for climbing. If the trees were gone, why keep the tree gear?



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-human-ancestors-in-patchy-forests">Human ancestors in patchy forests</h2>



A recent field study of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/what-wild-chimpanzees-can-teach-us-about-parenting/">chimpanzees</a> in western Tanzania offers a fresh piece of the puzzle.



Working in the remote Issa Valley, a team led by Rhianna Drummond-Clarke from the <a href="https://www.eva.mpg.de/index/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology</a> followed a community of wild chimps.



These chimpanzees live in a habitat that is strikingly similar to the patchy woodland thought to be inhabited by early hominins six to eight million years ago.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-feeding-keeps-chimps-in-trees">Feeding keeps chimps in trees</h2>



The results show that even when the landscape looks open and the next trunk stands many feet away, large apes still spend huge chunks of their day aloft. They balance, hang, and sometimes stand bipedally on branches to reach fruit, leaves, and seeds.



“For decades it was assumed that bipedalism arose because we came down from the trees and needed to walk across an open savanna,” Drummond-Clarke said. 



“We show safely and effectively navigating the canopy can remain very important for a large, semi-arboreal ape, even in open habitat."



"Adaptations to arboreal, rather than terrestrial, living may have been key in shaping the early <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/human-evolution-was-shaped-by-competition-not-just-climate-change/">evolution</a> of the human lineage.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-chimps-mapped-branch-by-branch">Chimps mapped branch by branch</h2>



The Issa Valley lies on a high plateau northwest of Lake Tanganyika. Rainfall is seasonal. Along streams, ribbon-like galleries of evergreen forest persist, but the hills between are covered by “savanna-mosaic” - tall grasses studded with single trees or small clumps.



Previous GPS and accelerometer work by the same team revealed that Issa chimpanzees spend just as much time <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/study-shows-early-humans-climbed-trees-and-worked-with-stone/">climbing</a> as their cousins in dense equatorial jungle. The new study set out to ask why.



Observers shadowed adult males and females through the 2022 dry season, recording every feeding bout in detail. They measured each tree’s height, trunk diameter, crown spread, and the thickness of branches that chimps ventured onto.



Back at camp, the researchers sorted photographs and notes into a vast spreadsheet. They recorded what food item was taken, how long the ape stayed, and which postures - hanging, clambering, upright balancing - were used to reach it.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-fruit-drives-upright-tree-behavior">Fruit drives upright tree behavior</h2>



Patterns soon emerged. The animals are, first and foremost, fruit connoisseurs. Soft pulp accounted for most mouthfuls, followed by young leaves and occasional flowers or seeds. Those items grow at the very tips of branches, where supports taper from wrist-thick to finger-thin.



To exploit them safely, chimps often adopt a suspensory style. They hang or stand bipedally, using nearby limbs or the trunk for support while reaching for food.



The longer a feeding session lasted, the larger and more food-laden the tree tended to be. Large fruit-laden trees, full of ripe figs or drupes, tempted chimps to invest extra time and more acrobatic maneuvers.



“We suggest our bipedal gait continued to evolve in the trees even after the shift to an open habitat,” Drummond-Clarke explained. “Observational studies of great apes demonstrate they can walk on the ground for a few steps, but most often use bipedalism in the trees."



"It’s logical that our early hominin relatives also engaged in this kind of bipedalism, where they can hold onto branches for extra balance.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-trees-offered-food-and-safety">Trees offered food and safety</h2>



Classic depictions of human origins show early humans standing upright on an empty plain, scanning for predators. The Issa observations point to a more nuanced scenario: mixed woodland offered both risk and reward.



Staying in trees gave access to rich food, making traits like <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/discovery-of-a-cretaceous-ostrich-mexidracon-longimanus-with-extremely-long-arms/">long arms</a>, grasping toes, and flexible spines advantageous. Bipedal balance on a branch could be a stepping-stone, literally and figuratively, toward efficient walking on the ground.



The study also underscores the role of seasonality. During the dry months the Issa chimps actually used the open miombo woodland more than the riverine forest, because fruiting peaks there at that time. Whether wet-season patterns look the same remains to be tested.



“This study only looked at foraging behavior during the dry season,” Drummond-Clarke cautioned. 



She and her colleagues plan to replicate their methods during rains, add nutritional analysis of foods, and compare Issa chimps with other savannah-dwelling populations in Uganda and Senegal.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-habitats-with-evolutionary-insights">Habitats with evolutionary insights</h2>



Understanding how today’s apes solve the challenges of a drying world carries modern as well as paleoanthropological relevance.



East Africa is warming; <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/wild-bees-are-active-in-woodland-tree-tops/">woodlands</a> are being fragmented by farms and roads. If chimps rely heavily on large fruiting trees even in sparse habitat, conserving those keystone species becomes critical. 



Protecting corridor forests could safeguard not only an endangered ape but also a living analogue for our own distant past.



“Importantly, this is also only one community of chimpanzees,” Drummond-Clarke noted. “Future studies of other chimpanzees living in such dry, open habitats will be vital to see if these patterns are truly a savanna-mosaic signal or unique to Issa.”



Whatever the outcome, the Issa data remind us that the path to humanity did not leap instantly from branch to prairie. It meandered through a landscape where climbing and walking, hanging and balancing, all mattered - where survival meant mastering both the ground beneath and the canopy above.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/ecology-and-evolution/articles/10.3389/fevo.2025.1561078/full" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution</a>.



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Walking upright may have started in the trees, not on land

Why did our earliest ancestors begin walking upright? For decades,...

Sulphur,Crested,Cockatoo,In,Sydney

Captive cockatoos do more than mimic voices. They also dance - and not just randomly. A recent study led by Natasha Lubke at <a href="https://www.csu.edu.au" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Charles Sturt University</a> reveals that cockatoos show a wide array of unique dance moves. 



From headbanging to body rolls, these birds put on a performance that rivals human creativity.



The researchers analyzed 45 online videos and observed zoo <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/large-flightless-birds-are-more-intelligent-than-we-realized/">birds</a> exposed to music and other audio. The team identified 30 distinct movements, with 17 newly documented in scientific literature.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cockatoos-dance-with-music">Cockatoos dance with music</h2>



These dances aren’t just reflexes - they involve brain systems that link sound to movement. Entrainment - the ability to match body movement with rhythm - appears in humans and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/parrots-have-a-unique-voice-print-similar-to-humans/">parrots</a>. This skill depends on vocal learning, a rare trait across animals.



“By analyzing dance behavior of cockatoos from 45 YouTube videos as well as cockatoos at Wagga Wagga Zoo and Aviary, I showed that dancing behavior is more common in cockatoos than previously thought and was seen in 10 of the 21 cockatoo species," said Lubke. 



"My analysis also indicated that dancing is far more complex and varied than previously thought.” 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-dancing-and-mating-habits">Dancing and mating habits</h2>



In the wild, many parrots use rhythm in courtship. For example, male palm cockatoos drum with sticks to impress females. 



The study found that captive dancing often mirrors such courtship displays. Movements like “downward,” “side to side,” and “sidestep” echo behaviors seen in red-tailed black cockatoos during mating rituals.



Some researchers suggest these behaviors are redirected <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/some-birds-use-biofluorescence-glowing-brightly-to-attract-mates-birds-of-paradise/">courtship displays</a> aimed at human companions. However, dancing was observed even without people present, hinting at deeper motivations.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cockatoos-dance-when-they-feel-happy">Cockatoos dance when they feel happy</h2>



The big question is whether dancing feels good to cockatoos. The study points out that dancing may reflect positive emotional states. 



Animal welfare science considers play - voluntary, repeated, and seemingly fun activities - as a sign of well-being.



Dancing may count as play. It occurs without reward, appears self-reinforcing, and involves creativity. The researchers observed rare moves seen in only one bird each, suggesting individual flair and possible expressions of creativity.



“The similarities with human dancing make it hard to argue against well-developed cognitive and emotional processes in parrots, and playing music to parrots may improve their welfare,” said Freire.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-music-may-not-be-essential">Music may not be essential </h2>



The researchers ran an experiment with six cockatoos from three species. The birds heard music, podcasts, or silence. Surprisingly, all birds danced across all conditions. 



The study found no statistical difference in dance frequency between the three audio types.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/cockatoos_dance-moves_performance-styles_illustration_credit-PLOS-One_1m.jpg"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/cockatoos_dance-moves_performance-styles_illustration_credit-PLOS-One_1s.webp" alt="Illustration of the 10 most common recorded dance movements. Ethogram descriptors based on Keehn et al. [3] and illustrations by Zenna Lugosi. Credit: Lubke et al., 2025, PLOS One" class="wp-image-1980791"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Illustration of the 10 most common recorded dance movements. Ethogram descriptors based on Keehn et al. [3] and illustrations by Zenna Lugosi. Click image to enlarge. Credit: Lubke et al., 2025, PLOS One</figcaption></figure>



That doesn’t mean music has no effect. It's possible the birds hadn’t heard enough music to develop a strong response. 



Or they may have focused on their partners instead of the audio. The chosen song or repeated use of the same track could also have reduced impact.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-hormones-may-fuel-dancing">Hormones may fuel dancing</h2>



In the video analysis, “downward” was the most common move, seen in half the birds. “Sidestep” came next, followed by moves like “foot lift” and “head circle.”



Less common moves included “jump turn,” “body roll,” and “head figure 8.” Some birds performed combinations of these moves in sequences, similar to human choreography.



Cluster analysis showed no clear link between dance style and genetic closeness. Goffin’s and white cockatoos danced most similarly, though they’re not closely related. This suggests culture or environment may influence dance style more than genetics.



The study also considered whether <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/female-birds-need-a-male-hormone-for-sexual-development/">hormones</a> might play a role. Courtship behaviors in many birds depend on hormones like testosterone. 



It’s possible dancing stimulates similar systems. If true, this would explain how and why parrots keep dancing, even without mates or music.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-boogie-not-boredom">Boogie, not boredom</h2>



Parrots in captivity often show repetitive behaviors linked to stress. These include feather plucking or pacing. To avoid misclassifying such behaviors, the researchers looked for variety. 



The cockatoos displayed enough movement diversity to suggest genuine dance - not stress-based repetition.



Still, the researchers emphasize the need for clearer definitions. Future studies should distinguish dancing from repetitive, purposeless movements to avoid confusion.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-insights-from-dancing-cockatoos">Insights from dancing cockatoos </h2>



“Playing music to parrots may provide a useful approach to enrich their lives in captivity, with positive effects on their welfare,” said Lubke.



That enrichment might help <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/virtual-forest-bathing-can-reduce-stress-and-improve-mood/">reduce stress</a> and offer stimulation. But not just any music will do. The right rhythm, beat, and style likely matter. Further studies could explore how cockatoos react to different genres, tempos, and musical patterns.



Cockatoos may dance for joy, attention, instinct - or all three. They dance alone or with company, to music or silence. They improvise, repeat, and invent new moves. 



These behaviors may open doors to understanding bird emotions, creativity, and cognitive capacity.



As we learn more, one thing becomes clear: the bird boogie isn’t just entertaining - it’s science in motion.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0328487" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">PLOS One</a>.



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Cockatoos have at least 30 different dance moves that they use to communicate

Captive cockatoos do more than mimic voices. They also dance...

Scientists have captured a remarkable glimpse into the high-speed lives of red-footed boobies. These seabirds, native to the Indian Ocean’s remote Chagos Archipelago, have been filmed mid-flight, catching flying fish. 



The footage confirms a long-held suspicion: these birds can snatch fish directly from the air.



Researchers fitted two boobies with lightweight cameras. Of 15 prey capture attempts, 14 were aerial pursuits. Only one was a dive. 



“The cameras recorded footage of the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/plastic-is-harming-seabirds-even-more-than-we-realized/">birds</a> catching flying fish just above the surface of the water, while on the wing," said Dr. Ruth Dunn, the study’s lead author from <a href="https://www.hw.ac.uk" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Heriot-Watt University</a>.



"We suspected this happened, but this is the first time we’ve had bird-borne footage showing them foraging and catching fish mid-air. It could suggest they are catching a significant portion of their diet in this way."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-optimal-winds-for-catching-fish">Optimal winds for catching fish</h2>



The study combined GPS and accelerometer trackers on 18 additional birds. The researchers tracked 45 foraging trips in total. The birds typically traveled hundreds of kilometers during each outing. These trips showed clear wind preferences.



Red-footed boobies are flap-gliding seabirds. They alternate between flapping and gliding flight. This style makes them efficient in tailwinds and crosswinds but not headwinds. 



When heading out from the colony, they strongly preferred crosswinds or tailwinds. On their way back, they still used crosswinds but showed more flexibility.



The <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/seabirds-have-highly-sensitive-beaks-to-locate-food/">birds</a> did not rely on familiar feeding spots. Their prey - mostly flying fish - is patchily distributed and unpredictable. Selecting optimal winds helps reduce <a href="https://www.int-res.com/articles/meps_oa/m723p073.pdf">energy costs</a> during these long journeys.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-riding-the-wind-to-save-energy">Riding the wind to save energy</h2>



The analysis revealed a strong link between wind direction, speed, and flight behavior. Boobies flapped more when flying into headwinds. 



The birds flapped less in crosswinds, and even less in tailwinds. These choices helped them maintain higher speeds while spending less energy.



The average ground speed reached about 22 miles per hour. When <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/shrinking-sea-ice-makes-it-harder-for-seabirds-to-find-food/">birds</a> flew with crosswinds at high wind speeds, they moved fastest and glided more. In contrast, headwinds forced them to flap harder and slowed them down.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-seabird-behavior-linked-to-wind">Seabird behavior linked to wind</h2>



Red-footed boobies were more likely to feed in windy conditions. Their feeding behavior - especially capturing flying fish - appeared closely linked to wind. 



Flying fish can glide farther and stay aloft longer when supported by strong winds. This increases their exposure and gives boobies a better chance of catching them.



In fact, human fishers also report better catch rates for flying fish during high winds and larger swells. These conditions improve flying fish habitats through nutrient-rich upwellings.



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



Waves also played a role. Though wind and wave height were often linked, birds reacted differently depending on wave direction. 



When waves aligned with the birds’ movement, feeding became more likely. The interaction between wind and wave direction likely affects both the birds and their prey.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/seabird-flight-camera_red-footed-booby_credit-Lancaster-U_1m.jpg"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/seabird-flight-camera_red-footed-booby_credit-Lancaster-U_1s.webp" alt="Bird-borne video camera footage of a red-footed booby Sula sula rubripes (a) flying close to a yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares) as it breaches the water’s surface, (b) foraging near a conspecific that is catching an exocoetid flying fish, (c) chasing a flying fish and (d) capturing the flying fish. Credit: Lancaster University" class="wp-image-1980799"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Bird-borne video camera footage of a red-footed booby Sula sula rubripes (a) flying close to a yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares) as it breaches the water’s surface, (b) foraging near a conspecific that is catching an exocoetid flying fish, (c) chasing a flying fish and (d) capturing the flying fish. Click image to enlarge. Credit: Lancaster University</figcaption></figure>



Boobies have relatively low aspect-ratio wings. This gives them better turning agility, an advantage when chasing flying fish. In windy seas, such agility becomes even more important.



Outbound trips are less fixed. Boobies can experiment with wind choices while seeking prey. But inbound journeys are more direct. Even so, birds often chose crosswinds to return faster.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-seabirds-in-a-changing-world">Seabirds in a changing world</h2>



As climate change alters global wind patterns, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/nearly-all-seabirds-have-ingested-microplastics/">seabird behavior</a> will likely shift. Some models predict stronger storms and higher wind speeds. 



Others suggest long-term global stilling. Either way, red-footed boobies may benefit from increased winds on the ocean - at least up to a point.



“Gaining a clearer understanding of such environmental effects will enable us to predict how they will cope in the future,” said Professor Stephen Votier.



Extreme conditions such as cyclones may test these birds’ limits. Yet boobies seem more resilient to storms than many tropical seabirds. Their ability to catch aerial prey in strong winds gives them a potential edge.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-feeding-zones-need-protection">Feeding zones need protection</h2>



This study links wind with both flight efficiency and feeding success, and shows how red-footed boobies use nature’s forces to boost survival. 



With wind as both ally and obstacle, their future will depend on how the climate continues to shift.



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/marine-protected-areas-fall-short-on-2030-biodiversity-targets/">Marine conservation</a> should consider not just breeding islands but also wind-affected feeding zones. Protecting these dynamic habitats will be key to the long-term survival of this flying fish specialist.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2025.0774" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences</a>.



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Seabird flights and amazing feeding behavior in the ocean captured with tiny cameras

Scientists have captured a remarkable glimpse into the high-speed lives...

A new federal report reveals that ultra-processed foods now account for more than half of the calories Americans consume. 



According to data from the CDC’s National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhanes/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NHANES</a>), conducted between August 2021 and August 2023, 55% of total daily calories for individuals aged 1 and older came from these highly processed products.



Children had even higher numbers - 61.9% compared to 53% for adults. “That’s excessive,” said Julia Zumpano, a registered dietitian at the <a href="https://my.clevelandclinic.org" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Cleveland Clinic</a>. “That’s concerning. It’s way too much.



"We don’t have guidelines, because why would we provide guidelines for junk food, but about 10% would be reasonable.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-understanding-ultra-processed-foods">Understanding ultra-processed foods</h2>



Ultra-processed foods (UPF) flood our grocery aisles and kitchen cupboards. The packaging is designed in labs to grab our visual attention, and the ingredients are chemically-enhanced to satiate our tastebuds.



Food scientists break down natural ingredients and then rebuild them into <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/breaking-free-from-ultra-processed-foods-the-surprising-health-benefits/">hyper-palatable snacks</a>, drinks, and ready-to-eat meals using additives, emulsifiers, sweeteners, and preservatives. 



You’ll recognize them by long ingredient lists with names you can hardly pronounce - think colorants, flavor enhancers, and texturizers. 



Companies engineer these products to taste irresistible and last longer on shelves, which makes them super convenient but also tricky when you’re trying to make healthy food choices and eat mindfully.



Needless to say, ultra-processed foods are <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/direct-link-confirmed-between-ultra-processed-foods-upf-serious-health-problems/">very unhealthy</a>. Research links regular consumption of these items to higher risks of obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and even certain cancers. 



Because they often pack in excess sugar, salt, and unhealthy fats, they can drive overeating and leave you feeling unsatisfied. 



On the flip side, whole and minimally processed foods - like fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, and nuts - deliver the nutrients your body craves without <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/new-tool-lets-you-check-how-processed-your-food-is-grocerydb/">hidden additives</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-who-eats-ultra-processed-foods">Who eats ultra-processed foods?</h2>



The survey revealed that children between the ages of one and five consumed fewer ultra-processed calories than older kids and teenagers. 



Among adults, the highest consumption was in the 19–39 age group at 54.4%, with slightly lower rates for those over 40.



There was one encouraging sign - consumption has slightly decreased. Between 2013–2014 and 2021–2023, the percentage of calories from ultra-processed foods fell from 55.8% to 53% in adults, and from 63.8% to 61.9% in children.



“It’s good that we see a decline of the percentage of ultra-processed food in both children and adults,” said Dr. Fang Fang Zhang, a cancer and nutrition epidemiologist at <a href="https://www.tufts.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Tufts University</a>. She noted that the drop might be due to reduced intake of sugary beverages.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-calls-for-change-in-homes-and-schools">Calls for change in homes and schools</h2>



According to the experts, reducing exposure starts with parents and schools. 



“If kids get a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ultraprocessed-foods-pose-major-health-risks-especially-for-kids/">packaged</a> snack or a dessert at school lunch every day, they think it’s okay,” Zumpano explained. She believes education for parents and children is crucial.



Zhang agreed, adding that cutting ultra-processed foods in schools and workplaces could have a long-lasting impact on the overall population level health. 



This push coincides with a larger political movement aimed at reshaping the American <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/eating-ultra-processed-foods-makes-your-muscles-weaker-and-more-fragile/">diet</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-america-s-chronic-disease-epidemic">America's chronic disease epidemic </h2>



The White House’s Make America Healthy Again (<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/maha/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">MAHA</a>) Commission is led by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.



The commission released a 69-page report that blames ultra-processed foods, environmental chemicals, sedentary lifestyles, and excessive screen time for chronic disease rates.



“We will not stop until we defeat the chronic disease epidemic in America,” said President Donald Trump at a MAHA event. He called Kennedy’s work “hot” and promised to challenge corporate lobbyists.



However, the report does not yet include a budget or specific regulations. Kennedy said the commission would develop policy recommendations in the next 100 days, with a goal to implement them over four years.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-criticism-of-the-report">Criticism of the report</h2>



The MAHA report’s criticism of pesticides has already sparked tension. While Kennedy and his advisers want tighter scrutiny, officials like Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins emphasized that “the food supply is 100% safe.” 



EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin warned that regulating pesticides too quickly could hurt farmers and raise production costs.



Industry groups like the <a href="https://ncga.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">National Corn Growers Association</a> rejected the pesticide claims, calling the report “fear-based” and not grounded in science. This signals likely battles ahead between the administration and agricultural interests.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-controversy-over-vaccine-statements">Controversy over vaccine statements</h2>



The report also calls for more research into <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-trick-immune-system-into-stronger-vaccine-response/">childhood vaccines</a>. While it affirms that vaccines protect against infectious diseases, it suggests more study on their “appropriate use” and “possible role” in chronic diseases.



This has drawn attention, as public health experts maintain that vaccines are safe and effective based on decades of research.



As the MAHA Commission moves forward, the challenge will be balancing public health reforms, industry concerns, and political realities. 



Whether its focus on cutting ultra-processed foods can meaningfully improve America’s health will depend on how these proposals evolve into concrete action.



This article references data from the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db536.htm" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics report</a>,&nbsp;Ultra-processed Food Consumption in Youth and Adults: United States, August 2021–August 2023&nbsp;(NCHS Data Brief No. 536, August 2025).



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Shock study: Americans get more than half of their daily calories from ultra-processed foods

A new federal report reveals that ultra-processed foods now account...

For years, scientists have puzzled over a strange patch of the Southern Ocean that glowed turquoise in satellite images. This region, often obscured by clouds and sea ice, stood out for its brightness - but the usual suspects didn’t fully explain it. 



Coccolithophores, the microscopic algae known for their shiny calcium carbonate shells, are typically responsible for such optical effects. But they thrive in warmer waters, and this area was far too cold.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-bright-signals-in-the-southern-ocean">Bright signals in the Southern Ocean </h2>



Back in the early 2000s, researchers from <a href="https://www.bigelow.org/">Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences</a> identified a band around Antarctica called the Great Calcite Belt. 



The band was full of coccolithophores and known for its high levels of particulate inorganic carbon. Satellite data showed their shells were clearly responsible for the bright signals in that zone.



Yet farther south, another bright area appeared - just as reflective, but without an obvious cause. For years, scientists couldn’t explain it. Cloud cover, rough seas, and ice made it hard to observe directly.



Now, researchers have identified the likely source: a different kind of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/tiny-plankton-play-a-big-role-in-the-global-carbon-cycle/">plankton</a> altogether. Silica-rich <a href="https://www.earth.com/image/spectacular-phytoplankton-bloom-in-the-north-atlantic/">diatoms</a>, which build dense, reflective structures known as frustules, may be lighting up this part of the ocean.



“This work takes a broad brush to understand the biological and geochemical dynamics of this far-flung body of water in ways that haven’t been previously possible,” said study lead author Barney Balch.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-from-the-ship-to-the-southern-ocean">From the ship to the Southern Ocean</h2>



That discovery came from a research cruise aboard the R/V Roger Revelle. The team sailed from Hawaii down to 60°S latitude, stopping at key points to gather data on water color, calcification rates, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dark-oxygen-discovery-deep-ocean-no-photosynthesis-baffles-scientists/">photosynthesis</a>, and concentrations of both inorganic carbon and silica.



“Satellites only see the top several meters of the ocean, but we were able to drill down with multiple measurements at multiple depths,” said Balch. “We’ve never had such a complete suite of integrated measurements through the water column in this part of the ocean.”



The scientists also tracked the movement of eddies - spiraling currents that bring water from deeper regions up toward the surface. 



Along the way, they measured both calcium carbonate and silica. These minerals both reflect light and also play a big role in how carbon gets stored in the ocean.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-explaining-the-reflective-glow">Explaining the reflective glow</h2>



By combining biogeochemical data, optical measurements, and microscopic imaging, the team mapped how the plankton community changes moving south. In the warmer, layered waters of the subtropics, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/tiny-phytoplankton-that-feed-ocean-life-are-rapidly-disappearing/">dinoflagellates</a> dominated. 



In the Great Calcite Belt, coccolithophores took over. But in the cold, silica-rich waters south of the Polar Front, diatoms became the main players.



“This combination of complementary methods provides a ‘smoking gun" that the high levels of reflectance scientists have observed in satellite images south of the calcite belt can be explained by frustules," said Balch.



These frustules, built by diatoms, reflect light in much the same way as coccolithophore shells - though it takes many more of them to produce the same optical effect. Their dense concentration in this region helps explain the brightness satellites have picked up for years.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-surprise-discovery-in-cold-waters">Surprise discovery in cold waters</h2>



Even more unexpectedly, the researchers also found signs of coccolithophores in these colder waters. While not dominant, they were present.



“Surprisingly, though, the team also observed small concentrations of inorganic carbon, some amount of calcification happening - a first - and visual evidence of coccolithophores in the far southern waters,” Balch said.



That discovery suggests coccolithophores might tolerate colder conditions more than previously thought. It’s also possible that eddies act as a delivery system, bringing small populations northward into the Great Calcite Belt.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-rethinking-carbon-and-satellites">Rethinking carbon and satellites</h2>



These findings matter far beyond the Southern Ocean. This region is one of the planet’s most important <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/satellites-reveal-how-oceans-absorb-carbon-in-unprecedented-detail/">carbon sinks</a>. Understanding which organisms live where - and how they appear in satellite imagery - helps scientists build better <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-models-underestimate-sea-ice-melt-and-global-warming/">climate models</a> and more accurate ocean-monitoring tools.



Right now, satellite algorithms often struggle to distinguish between coccolithophores and diatoms. That could lead to misreadings of carbon activity and marine biology in key areas.



“We’re expanding our view of where coccolithophores live and finally beginning to understand the patterns we see in satellite images of this part of the ocean we rarely get to go to,” Balch said. “There’s nothing like measuring something multiple ways to tell a more complete story.”



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2024GB008457">Global Biogeochemical Cycles</a>.



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Southern Ocean mystery: Satellites reveal a strange glow

For years, scientists have puzzled over a strange patch of...

The,Primitive,Man,In,The,Cave.;,3d,Render

Around 41,000 years ago, Earth’s magnetic field underwent a chaotic shift that temporarily weakened the planet’s natural protection from harmful solar radiation.



A new study suggests that early Homo sapiens may have survived - and even thrived - through this period thanks to innovations including tailored <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/when-did-early-humans-first-start-wearing-clothes-and-why-parasites-lice/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">clothing</a>, increased use of sun-protective ochre, and strategic sheltering in caves.



Meanwhile, their relatives the Neanderthals, who lacked these adaptations, vanished shortly thereafter.



The experts used advanced 3D modeling and archaeological evidence to offer a fresh perspective on how one of Earth’s past geomagnetic upheavals - known as the Laschamps excursion - may have influenced <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/human-evolution-was-shaped-by-competition-not-just-climate-change/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">human evolution</a> and migration.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-sky-lit-up-over-europe">The sky lit up over Europe</h2>



The <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adq7275" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Laschamps excursion</a> was a geomagnetic event that occurred about 41,000 years ago, during which Earth’s magnetic field temporarily weakened to about 10% of its current strength.



While the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/earths-magnetic-field-is-shifting-and-putting-navigation-at-risk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">magnetic poles</a> didn’t fully flip, they did wander significantly - especially over Europe - bringing intense auroras and letting in greater amounts of harmful ultraviolet (UV) radiation.



“In the study, we combined all of the regions where the magnetic field would not have been connected, allowing cosmic radiation, or any kind of energetic particles from the sun, to seep all the way in to the ground,” said lead author Agnit Mukhopadhyay, a research affiliate in climate and space sciences and engineering at <a href="https://umich.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Michigan</a>.



“We found that many of those regions actually match pretty closely with early human activity from 41,000 years ago, specifically an increase in the use of caves and an increase in the use of prehistoric sunscreen.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-magnetism-and-wandering-poles">Magnetism and wandering poles</h2>



<a href="https://www.earth.com/earthpedia-articles/earths-magnetic-field-origin-structure-and-impact-on-humanity/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Earth’s magnetic field</a> is generated by the rotation of its molten iron core, creating electrical currents that produce a magnetic shield around the planet. 



This field deflects most of the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/silent-storms-experts-identify-the-mysterious-source-of-solar-wind/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">solar wind</a> and cosmic rays that would otherwise reach Earth’s surface and deplete its ozone layer.



When the field weakens, as it did during the Laschamps event, it exposes much more of the planet to radiation. 



To explore this ancient episode, the researchers used the Space Weather Modeling Framework - a tool developed at UM’s <a href="https://clasp.engin.umich.edu/research/theory-computational-methods/center-for-space-environment-modeling/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Center for Space Environment Modeling</a> - to simulate how the Earth’s magnetic field and space plasma system interacted during the Laschamps event.



The experts then reconstructed the global space environment in 3D by combining models of the geomagnetic field, the surrounding plasma, and auroral activity at the time. 



The resulting simulations revealed a planet dramatically different from what we know today: auroras visible across Europe and northern Africa, and large swaths of the Earth exposed to solar and cosmic radiation.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-did-neanderthals-vanish">Why did Neanderthals vanish?</h2>



This intense solar exposure, researchers suggest, could have pushed early humans to adopt protective strategies. By around 41,000 years ago, Homo sapiens were becoming increasingly common in Europe, while <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/isolation-played-a-key-role-in-neanderthal-extinction/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Neanderthals</a> were nearing extinction and soon vanished.



“What some of the differences are between these species, between Neanderthals and anatomically modern humans, that might account for that disappearance has been a major anthropological question for decades,” said Raven Garvey, a U-M associate professor of anthropology.



One possibility? Tailored clothing. Archaeological sites associated with Homo sapiens from this period show evidence of sewing tools - scrapers, awls, and needles - that allowed for the creation of fitted garments.



Such clothing would have helped protect against cold climates but also may have shielded skin from increased UV exposure. 



According to the scientists, tailored clothing has a two-fold benefit: it is significantly warmer and this added warmth meant that early humans could travel farther from their hearths and shelters in their search of food.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-human-adaptation-and-innovation">Human adaptation and innovation</h2>



Clothing wasn’t the only adaptation. Homo sapiens also began using ochre more frequently during this period. 



Ochre, a naturally occurring red or yellow pigment composed of iron oxide, has long been used by human ancestors for decorative and symbolic purposes. But it also has practical benefits.



“There have been some experimental tests that show it has sunscreen-like properties. It’s a pretty effective sunscreen, and there are also ethnographic populations that have used it primarily for that purpose,” Garvey said.



“Its increased production and its association primarily with anatomically modern humans (during the Laschamps) is also suggestive of people’s having used it for this purpose as well.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-response-to-an-invisible-threat">Response to an invisible threat</h2>



Another clue lies in early humans’ use of caves. Archaeological data show a marked increase in cave habitation around the same time as the Laschamps event. 



These natural shelters would have provided physical protection from the radiation pouring in through the weakened magnetic field.



As Mukhopadhyay and Garvey note, these behaviors - hiding in caves, making more use of ochre, and sewing fitted clothes - are all found in archaeological records. 



The records date back to the Laschamps event, hinting at a collective response to an invisible but potentially deadly threat.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-magnetic-field-stability-and-human-survival">Magnetic field stability and human survival</h2>



Garvey is careful to emphasize that the study’s findings. “I think it’s important to note that these findings are correlational and (ours is a) meta analysis, if you will,” she said. “But I think it is a fresh perspective on these data in light of the Laschamps excursion.”



While not proof of causation, the overlap between increased human technological behavior and periods of magnetic field instability offers new insight into how Homo sapiens may have gained a survival advantage over Neanderthals.



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



Beyond its relevance to human prehistory, the study also raises questions about how a future magnetic reversal might affect modern life. 



With Earth’s magnetic field currently weakening and the North Pole slowly drifting, Mukhopadhyay says it’s worth considering what would happen if a similar event occurred today.



“If such an event were to happen today, we would see a complete blackout in several different sectors,” he warned. 



“Our communication satellites would not work. Many of our telecommunication arrays, which are on the ground, would be severely affected by the smallest of space weather events, not to mention the human impacts which would also play a pretty massive role in our day-to-day lives.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-could-this-happen-to-modern-humans">Could this happen to modern humans?</h2>



The research also carries implications for astrobiology. “Many people say that a planet cannot sustain life without a strong magnetic field,” Mukhopadhyay said. 



“Looking at prehistoric Earth, and especially at events like this, helps us study exoplanetary physics from a very different vantage point. Life did exist back then. But it was a little bit different than it is today.”



In the end, the Laschamps excursion offers more than just an explanation for why Neanderthals may have vanished. It’s a reminder that Earth’s magnetic shield, often taken for granted, plays a crucial role in protecting life on our planet. And when it falters, survival may depend on how quickly life can adapt.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adq7275" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Science Advances</a>.



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Intense UV rays from the Sun may have killed off the Neanderthals

Around 41,000 years ago, Earth’s magnetic field underwent a chaotic...

<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.

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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Wildlife tunnels save millions of amphibians

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

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



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



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https://youtu.be/Ug657J67iEo?si=w96YjGMsg939LD_3
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Probiotics - beneficial microbes that balance gut bacteria and aid digestion - are typically fragile and can be destroyed by stomach acid or processing. 



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Is chocolate the next nutritional powerhouse?

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

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

[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

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

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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

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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

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

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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

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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

[sendtonews key="qjvhBOBnY8-2426650-12187" 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 the province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain. The image was captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission.



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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

Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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

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