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...

There’s a massive planet out there, far beyond our solar system, that’s speeding around its star so fast it completes an entire orbit in just 16 hours. It’s 870 light-years away and on a one-way path toward destruction.



Researchers from <a href="https://www.mq.edu.au/">Macquarie University</a> have tracked the slow-motion fall of this planet - TOI-2109b - and confirmed that it’s spiraling closer to its star.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-planet-death-spiral-begins">A planet death spiral begins</h2>



TOI-2109b is what astronomers call an “ultra-hot Jupiter.” It’s nearly five times the mass of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/jupiters-past-how-the-young-gas-giant-shaped-our-solar-system/">Jupiter</a> and almost twice its size. But what really sets it apart is how close it orbits its star - even closer than <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/is-there-life-on-mercury-possibly-in-the-planets-craters-study-reveals/">Mercury</a> orbits our Sun.



“Just to put it into context - Mercury's mass is almost 6,000 times smaller than Jupiter's, but it still takes 88 days to orbit our Sun," said Dr. Jaime Alvarado-Montes, a Macquarie research fellow who led the study.



"For a huge gas giant such as TOI-2109b to fully orbit in 16 hours - it tells us that this is a planet located super close to its star.” 



It’s the fastest orbit of any hot Jupiter ever found. And that speed is part of what’s sealing its fate.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-closing-in-on-its-star">Closing in on its star</h2>



Using 14 years of data from NASA’s TESS mission, ESA’s CHEOPS satellite, and ground-based telescopes, the team found that the planet’s <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/unusual-planet-discovered-in-an-orbit-that-has-never-been-seen-before/">orbit</a> is shrinking and unstable.



By running the numbers through different models and comparing with direct observations, the team concluded that TOI-2109b’s orbital period is decreasing. 



In the next three years alone, it could shorten by at least 10 seconds. That doesn’t sound like much - but in the world of orbital mechanics, it’s huge.



“This planet and its interesting situation could help us figure out some mysterious astronomical phenomena that so far we really don't have much evidence to explain,” said Dr. Alvarado-Montes. “It could tell us the story of many other <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/rare-six-planet-star-system-moves-in-strange-perfect-synchrony/">solar systems</a>.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-planets-don-t-live-forever">Planets don’t live forever</h2>



Planets don’t live forever. But the way they die isn’t always clear - and it rarely looks the same twice. Some may be ejected from their solar systems entirely, flung into deep space after chaotic interactions with other planets. 



Others might slowly spiral into their stars, especially if they orbit too close. And some get torn apart by gravity, stripped by radiation, or collide with other objects. Most of what we know about planetary death comes from simulations and theories.



Actual observations are rare, because the timescales are usually huge - far longer than a human lifetime. That’s what makes TOI-2109b so important. It offers a chance to catch a planet in the act of dying, rather than piecing together what happened long after it’s gone.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ripped-swallowed-or-stripped">Ripped, swallowed, or stripped</h2>



Scientists see three possible endings for TOI-2109b. One, the star’s crushing gravity could pull it apart. Two, the star might swallow it whole as it spirals inward. Or three, it could have its outer gas layers stripped away by intense radiation, leaving behind a dense, rocky core.



That third outcome is especially interesting. If TOI-2109b ends up as a bare core, it could help explain the origins of some rocky planets found in other systems. 



These stripped-down worlds might be the fossil remains of gas giants that got too close to their stars. The idea changes how we think about <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/planet-formation-new-insights-mechanics-physics/">planetary life cycles</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-warning-from-deep-space">A warning from deep space</h2>



TOI-2109b may be 870 light-years away, but what happens to it could reshape how we think about other worlds - including our own.



If <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/giant-gas-planets-are-cosmic-wrecking-balls-that-wreak-havoc-in-habitable-zones/">gas giants</a> can be torn apart or stripped down by their stars, it might explain why we find small, rocky planets in places where they shouldn't exist. Maybe they’re just the hardened cores of giants that got too close.



Each orbit brings new clues. And the closer TOI-2109b drifts to its star, the more clearly we’ll see how violent - and unpredictable - planetary evolution can be.



The team isn’t done watching. In fact, the next few years could be the most revealing yet. They’ll keep tracking the orbit for signs that one of the planet’s three possible fates is beginning. It’s not often astronomers get to witness a planet mid-collapse.



TOI-2109b is giving us a rare look at a planet in real-time crisis - and it’s changing what we thought we knew about the life and death of worlds.



Image credit: NASA/CXC/M. Weiss



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/ade057">The Astrophysical Journal</a>.



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Death spiral of giant planet could explain rocky world origins

There’s a massive planet out there, far beyond our solar...

Could the answer to your illness be hiding in your kitchen or garden? A new scientific review has explored how seven global superfoods, ranging from mushrooms to herbs and berries, may help protect the body from chronic illnesses by reducing oxidative stress.



Oxidative stress occurs when there is an imbalance between the production and accumulation of ROS (reactive oxygen species), and the body's antioxidant defenses. This can damage cells and tissues, disrupt redox balance, and lead to systemic inflammation.



The latest review examined how seven medicinal plants helped attain <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/4343247/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">redox balance</a>, the equilibrium between oxidation and reduction reactions within a system. This balance is essential for cells to function properly and for the immune system to be in top shape.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-global-superfoods-and-natural-remedies">Global superfoods and natural remedies</h2>



The review focused on time-tested ingredients that you may already know or even use in your kitchen. The researchers selected plants like shiitake mushrooms, ginseng, turmeric, black seed, berries, moringa, and holy basil. People around the world have used these plants in traditional remedies for a long time.



The study reported that many of these botanicals have antioxidative and immunotherapeutic properties. 



So, how are they beneficial at the cellular level? According to the review, these plants affected the Keap1/Nrf2 pathway, which helps the body respond to harmful stress and toxins.



The <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/plant-extracts-may-help-treat-metabolic-syndrome/">phytochemicals</a> present in these botanicals maintain immune homeostasis. The body achieves this balance by regulating two types of immune responses: Th1 fights infections and cancer, while Th2 manages allergies and inflammation. In other words, the Th1/Th2 balance is essential for immune system health.



The findings suggest that these plants offer significant health benefits. Further clinical research will be essential to translate these cellular benefits into practical dietary interventions.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-mushrooms-and-cancer-treatment">Mushrooms and cancer treatment </h2>



Shiitake mushrooms (Lentinula edodes) in your miso soup are doing more than just adding flavor. They contain the compound lentinan, which has been shown to support the immune system in cancer and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/wolves-have-gut-bacteria-that-can-help-dogs-with-canine-ibd/">IBD</a> (inflammatory bowel disease) models.



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">
Principal studies suggest that lentinan may help regulate Th1-Th2 balance and can be used in cancer treatment. Patients can take lentinan as an IV infusion or in capsule form. However, it should be avoided by individuals with mushroom allergy and those taking drugs metabolized by <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK557698/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CYP450 enzymes</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ginseng-protects-organs">Ginseng protects organs</h2>
</blockquote>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">
Researchers found that ginseng, Panax ginseng, has antioxidative and organ-protective properties, especially in conditions like diabetic nephropathy. 



Steaming ginseng turns it into red ginseng, which boosts the concentration of active compounds, like Rg1, Re, Rb1, and Rd.
</blockquote>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">
The compound Rg1 helps repair arteries damaged by high blood pressure and supports kidney function. Re protects insulin-producing cells in the pancreas and promotes healthy blood sugar and cholesterol levels. 



Rb1 has shown benefits in acute kidney injury, while Rd protects renal tissues from drug-induced damage.
</blockquote>



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



The researchers also reviewed research on turmeric, Curcuma longa, a yellow spice used in traditional dishes and medicines. It contains curcumin, which is known for its <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/many-nigerian-food-plants-have-cancer-fighting-properties/">anticancer</a>, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory properties.



Curcumin neutralizes free radicals and, in lab studies, it reduced cellular damage caused by hydrogen peroxide. Animal studies showed less liver damage and higher levels of protective enzymes when curcumin is included in the diet.



But here is the catch: curcumin is not easily absorbed unless it is paired with piperine from black pepper, Piper nigrum.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-black-seed-supports-immunity">Black seed supports immunity</h2>



Black seed, Nigella sativa, contains a key compound called thymoquinone. Studies have shown that thymoquinone neutralizes free radicals like hydrogen peroxide and superoxide, preventing cell damage. In vivo studies show that thymoquinone supports neurological and renal health.



Human trials have shown that people who consumed black seed oil had higher antioxidant enzyme levels, lower markers of oxidative stress, and improvements in blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar.



In diabetic patients, combining thymoquinone with conventional treatment led to better outcomes.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-powerful-berries-and-herbs">Powerful berries and herbs</h2>



Colorful berries and leafy herbs, like Moringa oleifera, are rich in antioxidants like quercetin, kaempferol, chlorogenic acid, and pterostilbene. These compounds <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fasting-helps-the-body-fight-inflammation-and-chronic-diseases/">decrease inflammation</a> and limit cellular wear and tear.



Quercetin and kaempferol increase the level of protective proteins like HO-1, which reduces inflammation. Additionally, they lowered ROS levels, thus protecting key organs like the liver and kidneys.



In lab studies, they were shown to reduce <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/plant-based-diet-improves-health-in-women-with-breast-cancer/">breast cancer</a> cell growth. According to the review, chlorogenic acid improved glucose uptake in muscle cells, which helped to control blood sugar.



In vivo studies have shown that when combined, quercetin, kaempferol, and pterostilbene work synergistically to increase Nrf2 activity and provide better protection against oxidative damage.



Another herb to highlight is holy basil or tulsi, an Indian medicinal plant. It contains bioactive compounds like eugenol, polyphenols, flavonoids, and terpenes. Eugenol helps cells survive under oxidative stress by enhancing antioxidant-related gene expression.



In diabetic rats, tulsi significantly reduced blood glucose and HbA1c levels and increased antioxidant markers. This suggests that tulsi not only helps control blood sugar but also contributes to the regulation of antioxidants.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-global-superfoods-for-modern-medicine">Global superfoods for modern medicine</h2>



Across numerous studies, plant-based compounds have shown strong potential in boosting the <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3488923/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">body's antioxidant defenses</a>. These substances neutralize free radicals and also activate key cellular pathways.



Plant-based compounds help the body manage inflammation, improve immune function, and protect vital organs from damage.



Practitioners may one day use global superfoods and traditional remedies to complement modern treatments for diseases that are rooted in oxidative stress.



The full study was published in the <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/26/15/7316" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">International Journal of Molecular Sciences</a>.



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Seven global superfoods strengthen the body's natural defenses

Could the answer to your illness be hiding in your...

Fruit lovers often complain that supermarket <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/reverse-evolution-these-wild-tomatoes-are-turning-back-time/">tomatoes</a> look gorgeous yet taste flat. Now a team in China has shown that gene editing can produce sweeter tomatoes without sacrificing productivity.



Chinese researchers used <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36171658/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CRISPR-Cas9</a> scissors to switch off two “sugar-brake” genes, thus boosting glucose and fructose in ripe fruit by about 30 percent while harvest weight stayed steady. 



The project is led by plant molecular geneticist Jinzhe Zhang at the <a href="https://agis.caas.cn/en/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Agricultural Genomics Institute,</a> Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences in Shenzhen.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-century-long-flavor-tradeoff">A century-long flavor tradeoff</h2>



The tomato’s wild ancestor was a berry scarcely wider than a pencil eraser yet rich in taste. Selective breeding for size inflated modern fruit up to a hundred-fold, but diluted sugars because the plant now spreads its photo-assimilates across far more cells.



Consumers have noticed. Panels comparing 152 heirloom and commercial tomato varieties found that sweetness contributes roughly half of overall liking, and that modern, shelf-friendly lines underperform older, sweeter ones.



Growers, though, have stuck with large cultivars because yield still sets farm income. Breaking the biological link between weight and soluble solids content has therefore become a prime target for breeders.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-gene-editing-a-double-brake-on-sugar">Gene editing a double brake on sugar</h2>



Zhang’s group discovered that two calcium-dependent <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26520101/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">protein kinase genes</a>, SlCDPK27 and SlCDPK26, tag a key sucrose-processing enzyme for destruction. Knocking both out lets the enzyme stay active longer, which channels more sucrose into the fruit during late ripening.



“Gene-edited SlCDPK27 and SlCDPK26 knockouts increased glucose and fructose contents by up to 30 percent, enhancing perceived sweetness without fruit weight or yield penalty,” explained Zhang. 



Field plots in Beijing and Shouguang produced the same number of tomatoes per plant, proving that sweeter tomatoes can be just as productive. 



The team did note slightly lighter seeds, but germination rates stayed normal. That means growers will not sacrifice next season’s seedlings for better-tasting fruit.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-sweeter-fruit-were-once-smaller">Sweeter fruit were once smaller</h2>



Physiologists have long shown that a tomato has a fixed pool of sugars to distribute. Enlarging each berry forced that sugar to spread thinly, which decreased the concentration that our tongues detect.



By editing only ripening-stage regulators, the Chinese team avoided tampering with early growth, so the fruit still fills out before sweetness rises. The strategy mirrors recent work in maize and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/strawberries-of-the-future-will-be-even-more-healthy-and-delicious/">strawberries</a> and could apply to apples, pears, and oranges, which carry related sugar-brake genes.



The approach also dodges the yield dip seen when breeders simply crank up sugar-making enzymes across all tissues. With the brakes released only in the ripening fruit, leaves keep enough carbohydrate for photosynthesis and plant health.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-taste-buds-say-yes-to-sweeter-tomatoes">Taste buds say yes to sweeter tomatoes</h2>



In two tasting panels totaling about 200 volunteers, 60 percent of participants picked the gene-edited tomatoes as sweeter, even in blind comparisons. The statisticians confirmed that preference exceeded chance, and matched the biochemical jump in sugars.



Sensory data back earlier market surveys showing that shoppers will pay more for fruit scoring 4.5° Brix or higher. Higher sugar also concentrates sauces faster, cutting processing energy and wastewater.



Notably, the sweeter new tomatoes did not lose bright acidity, so flavors stayed balanced rather than cloying. That balance answers complaints about some old “sweet” heirlooms that lacked the tang chefs prize.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-from-greenhouse-to-grocery-aisle">From greenhouse to grocery aisle</h2>



Genome-edited <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ripening-tomatoes-may-hold-clues-to-delay-human-aging/">tomatoes</a> have already reached consumers in Japan, where a high-GABA variety went on sale in 2021. Those sales show that shoppers will try to produce improvements with precise edits rather than foreign DNA.



Regulatory landscapes differ, however. England and Wales still require secondary legislation before farmers can plant edited crops, so shelves there may wait three to five years.



In the United States, the <a href="https://blog.aspb.org/policy-update-federal-judge-vacates-usda-rule-regulating-biotech-crops/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">USDA</a> exempts most deletion edits from extra oversight, so field trials could begin quickly once a seed company licenses the trait. Because the edit involves only a few base pairs, breeders can back-cross the sweetness trait into any commercial line in a single year.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-lies-ahead">What lies ahead</h2>



Industry analysts expect the first commercial plantings to target premium snacking tomatoes, where sweetness commands top dollar. If consumers embrace the flavor, larger slicers and processing cultivars will follow.



The researchers are already testing whether milder edits that tweak gene promoters rather than deleting coding regions, can fine-tune <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/squats-vs-walking-the-definitive-winner-for-reducing-blood-sugar/">sugar</a> levels for different markets. They are also exploring stacked edits that pair sweeter fruit with extended shelf life, aiming to reduce post-harvest waste.



With the sugar brakes off, breeders finally have a clear lane to restore the taste that many people remember from backyard gardens.



The study is published in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-08186-2" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature</a>.



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Scientists use gene editing to make tomatoes that are 30% sweeter and healthier

Fruit lovers often complain that supermarket tomatoes look gorgeous yet...

Forests act like natural storage units for carbon. Trees soak it up and hold it in their trunks, branches, roots, and leaves. But this ability to store carbon isn’t fixed. Climate shifts and human activity can throw it off balance. What’s happening in one forest might not match what’s going on in another. 



That’s why scientists need a consistent, long-term way to track how forest biomass is changing over time.



That’s exactly what researchers from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">European Space Agency</a> (ESA) have been working on. In a recent study, they used a satellite originally designed to measure soil moisture and ocean salinity to estimate forest biomass over a 15-year period. The key data point they used? Something called vegetation optical depth, or VOD.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-soil-satellite-spots-forest-trends">Soil satellite spots forest trends</h2>



Launched in 2009, ESA’s Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) mission was never designed to track forests. Its main tool - the Microwave Imaging Radiometer - was supposed to map <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-soil-moisture-can-predict-severe-storms/">soil moisture</a> on land and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/human-induced-changes-in-ocean-salinity-threaten-biodiversity-and-marine-ecosystems/">salinity</a> in oceans.



But over time, scientists noticed something else. The radiometer was also picking up signals from vegetation.



The VOD measurement from SMOS tells us how much vegetation is in the way of the microwave signal. In simple terms, the denser and wetter the vegetation, the more the signal gets blocked. 



That’s why VOD can be used to estimate how much biomass is above ground. This includes both dry material like trunks and branches, and water stored in leaves and stems.



“SMOS is able to detect how the microwave radiation signal from its instrument gets weaker when it passes through vegetation,” said Matthias Drusch, Land Surfaces Principal Scientist at ESA. “That tells us about total mass: dry biomass plus water content. It’s not direct, but it’s very useful.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-unraveling-forest-satellite-data">Unraveling forest satellite data</h2>



Tracking VOD over time gives a picture of what’s happening in forests across the globe, but making sense of it isn’t always easy.



“Over the SMOS time series, you can spot major trends - big <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-is-now-the-driving-force-behind-droughts/">droughts</a>, floods, or shifts in vegetation structure - but interpreting them isn’t always straightforward,” said Klaus Scipal, SMOS and Biomass Mission Manager at ESA. “Because the signal includes both biomass and water, we need to be cautious about what we’re actually seeing.”



That’s where long-term analysis and ground data come in. Paul Vermunt, a scientist from the University of Twente in the Netherlands, emphasized this point.



“You need long time-series, but also a way to interpret them,” he said. “That’s why we’re combining satellite data with on-the-ground measurements."



"The idea is to link what we see from space with what’s happening inside forests and even individual trees.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-biomass-adds-fine-detail">Biomass adds fine detail</h2>



In April of this year, ESA launched another satellite called Biomass. This one is equipped with a radar that uses longer radio waves than SMOS. While SMOS works in the L-band, Biomass operates in the P-band. 



“<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/biomass-satellite-mission-sends-first-images-of-earths-most-extreme-environments/">Biomass</a> gives us detailed structural data, especially in the tropics,” said Drusch. “But it doesn’t cover the globe and lacks a long time record. If we want maps without gaps, we have to combine multiple satellites - and that’s only possible if we understand the uncertainties in each.”



Scipal added, “Biomass has a much finer resolution than SMOS, so it helps us zoom in on the structural details. But to see long-term trends, you still need SMOS. Together, they tell us more than either one alone.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tracking-forests-across-decades">Tracking forests across decades</h2>



The SMOS dataset now spans from 2011 to 2025 and provides consistent global observations. That’s invaluable for tracking how forests are responding to climate change and human pressures. 



When paired with the more detailed view from Biomass, scientists can monitor both the big picture and the small shifts happening inside <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/forests-rich-tree-diversity-adapt-better-changing-climate/">forest ecosystems</a>.



“SMOS allows us to look on long-term trends on a global scale - and Biomass is now zooming in on spatial details and specifically at structural changes in the canopy,” said Scipal.



The findings from the SMOS study also line up well with other climate monitoring datasets, including those from ESA’s Climate Change Initiative. With more satellites coming online and better tools to interpret their data, researchers are building a stronger, clearer picture of the world's forests - and how they’re changing.



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://essd.copernicus.org/articles/17/1101/2025/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Earth System Science Data</a>.



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Satellites capture dramatic shifts in Earth's forests

Forests act like natural storage units for carbon. Trees soak...

After years of outsmarting conservation efforts, rhino horn traffickers may finally meet their match - and it’s coming from an unlikely source: nuclear science.



The Rhisotope Project, led by a team at <a href="https://www.wits.ac.za/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Wits University</a> in South Africa in collaboration with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), is using low-level radioactive isotopes to make <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/historical-photos-suggest-that-rhino-horns-have-gotten-smaller/">rhino horns</a> traceable at border checkpoints. 



After six years of testing, the project has now reached a point where it’s ready for widespread use.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-safe-for-rhinos-tough-on-traffickers">Safe for rhinos, tough on traffickers</h2>



Six months ago, the project embedded trace amounts of radioactive material into the horns of 20 rhinos living in the UNESCO Waterberg Biosphere. 



Since then, scientists have been closely monitoring the animals. Blood tests and veterinary checkups show no harm has been done.



“We have demonstrated, beyond scientific doubt, that the process is completely safe for the animal and effective in making the horn detectable through international customs nuclear security systems,” said Professor James Larkin, chief scientific officer of the Rhisotope Project.



To verify safety, researchers used a method called biological dosimetry. They cultured blood samples from the rhinos and looked for signs of cell damage in white blood cells. None were found. This confirms that the isotope levels used are well within safe limits.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-nuclear-tools-fight-poaching">Nuclear tools fight poaching</h2>



Nuclear tech, often tied to energy or medicine, is now helping fight <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/wildlife-crime-cases-can-be-solved-with-genetic-forensics/">wildlife crime</a> in a surprising new role. It’s a shift from the lab to the landscape, where science meets real-world urgency.



“This is one example of how Wits University’s researchers work and think innovatively, stepping out of the clinical environments of their laboratories to bring bold, creative solutions to some of the world’s toughest challenges,” said Professor Zeblon Vilakazi, vice-chancellor and principal of Wits University.



South Africa is home to most of the world’s rhinos. For more than a decade, it’s been losing them to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dehorning-rhinos-significantly-cuts-down-on-poaching/">poachers</a> who sell the horns on the black market. 



The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) now lists white rhinos as “Near Threatened” and black rhinos as “Critically Endangered.”



The project hopes to reduce this threat by making smuggled horns easier to detect. It aims to work not just visually, but with standard radiation detectors already used at airports and ports worldwide.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-rhino-horn-tracking-in-real-life">Rhino horn tracking in real life</h2>



To make sure the technology works in real-world conditions, the team tested how detectable the treated horns would be during transport.



“We simulated transport scenarios with the 3D-printed horns in carry-on luggage, air cargo shipments, and priority parcel delivery systems," said Larkin. "In each case, even a single horn with significantly lower levels of radioactivity than what will be used in practice successfully triggered alarms in radiation detectors,” 



The horns even showed up inside full-size shipping containers. That means border security officers around the world could start catching illicit shipments much more reliably.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-global-effort-to-protect-rhinos">Global effort to protect rhinos</h2>



The Rhisotope Project is a registered non-profit and will be fully operational starting August 2025. The team encourages conservation groups, rhino owners, and government agencies to reach out and participate.



“Our goal is to deploy the Rhisotope technology at scale to help protect one of Africa’s most iconic and threatened species," said Jessica Babich, CEO of the Rhisotope Project. "By doing so, we safeguard not just rhinos but a vital part of our natural heritage.” 



The project is already getting international attention - not just from wildlife groups, but from the nuclear -science community.



“This project exemplifies how nuclear science can be applied in novel ways to address global challenges,” said IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi. “By leveraging existing nuclear security infrastructure, we can help protect one of the world’s most iconic and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/national-endangered-species-day-protecting-life-on-the-brink/">endangered species</a>.”



For once, rhinos may have the upper hand. And with science on their side, their horns may become less of a prize - and more of a trap - for traffickers.



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Rhino horns go radioactive to stop poaching

After years of outsmarting conservation efforts, rhino horn traffickers may...

For centuries, scientists have understood that lightning discharges when charge imbalances inside a thundercloud finally break down the surrounding air. Yet the moment-by-moment physics that sets the entire process in motion has been stubbornly elusive.



Now, a research team led by <a href="https://www.psu.edu/">Penn </a><a href="https://www.psu.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">State</a> electrical engineer Victor Pasko may have solved the riddle. Drawing on state-of-the-art mathematical modeling and a growing library of field observations, the group has traced the chain reaction that starts with a few stray <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/shape-of-electrons-revealed-first-time-through-big-advance-in-quantum-physics/">electrons</a> and ends with a blinding sky-splitting bolt.



“Our findings provide the first precise, quantitative explanation for how lightning initiates in nature,” Pasko explained. “It connects the dots between X-rays, electric fields, and the physics of electron avalanches.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tiny-collisions-massive-sparks">Tiny collisions, massive sparks</h2>



At the heart of the new explanation lies the junction of two atmospheric realities. First, every thundercloud is threaded by strong electric fields as updrafts separate positive and negative charges. Second, the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/nasa-gold-mission-unexpectedly-finds-x-shaped-structures-in-earths-upper-atmosphere/">upper atmosphere</a> is constantly peppered by cosmic-ray electrons that plunge earthward at nearly light speed.



Using a numerical framework dubbed the Photoelectric Feedback Discharge model, the researchers showed that a sufficiently strong cloud field can kick those cosmic-ray electrons into overdrive.



The accelerated particles bang into nitrogen and oxygen molecules, emitting high-energy X-rays and spawning a fresh wave of electrons. That, in turn, triggers still more collisions, creating what physicists call a relativistic runaway electron avalanche.



“By simulating conditions with our model that replicated the conditions observed in the field, we offered a complete explanation for the X-rays and radio emissions that are present within thunderclouds,” Pasko said.



“We demonstrated how electrons, accelerated by strong electric fields in thunderclouds, produce X-rays as they collide with air molecules like nitrogen and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/rocks-reveal-the-turning-point-when-oxygen-changed-earth-forever/">oxygen</a>, and create an avalanche of electrons that produce high-energy photons that initiate lightning.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tracing-lightning-back-to-its-roots">Tracing lightning back to its roots</h2>



Doctoral student Zaid Pervez took the lead in stress-testing the model. He fed it data gathered by satellites, ground receivers, and even high-altitude spy planes that capture the hidden fireworks occurring inside storms.



Pervez also cited earlier work on compact inter-cloud discharges - tiny lightning flashes inside small, dense cloud volumes.



“We explained how photoelectric events occur, what conditions need to be in thunderclouds to initiate the cascade of electrons, and what is causing the wide variety of radio signals that we observe in clouds all prior to a lightning strike,” noted Pervez.



The results aligned. Whenever the model recreated the exact electric-field strengths inferred from observations, it predicted the same bursts of X-rays and<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/earths-radio-waves-recorded-from-the-moon-for-the-first-time/"> radio waves.</a> These are signals researchers have cataloged for decades but never fully understood.



Those invisible signals, the team argues, are the telltale heartbeat of avalanching electrons and the surest sign that a cloud is primed to fire.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-secret-storm-inside-the-cloud">The secret storm inside the cloud</h2>



Lightning scientists have long puzzled over so-called terrestrial gamma-ray flashes - millisecond blips of X- and gamma-rays detected above thunderstorms. Satellites observe them even when no obvious flash of lightning occurs. The new framework finally explains that mismatch.



“In our modeling, the high-energy X-rays produced by relativistic electron avalanches generate new seed electrons driven by the photoelectric effect in air, rapidly amplifying these avalanches,” Pasko noted.



This runaway reaction varies in strength, producing <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/understanding-x-ray-radiation-that-spews-out-of-black-holes-surroundings/">X-rays</a> even when optical and radio signals remain weak or absent.



"This explains why these gamma-ray flashes can emerge from source regions that appear optically dim and radio silent,” he said.



In other words, a cloud can host a furious sub-visible storm of electrons and photons without creating a full-fledged stroke that humans notice from below. Only when the avalanche grows large enough does the cloud crackle with traditional lightning.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-spotting-lightning-before-it-strikes">Spotting lightning before it strikes</h2>



Because the Photoelectric Feedback Discharge model spells out the exact thresholds required for avalanches to self-sustain, it offers meteorologists and atmospheric physicists a concrete predictive tool.



The published equations invite researchers to use real-time field data or test them in unusual environments.



The study could reshape how scientists interpret satellite detections of gamma-ray flashes and refine lightning-forecast algorithms. It may also illuminate high-altitude electrical phenomena such as blue jets and elves.



The research also has practical implications: lightning remains a leading cause of weather-related fatalities and costs airlines and power companies billions annually.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-storm-simulations-in-3d">Storm simulations in 3D</h2>



The next challenge is to integrate the model with three-dimensional cloud-scale simulations, capturing how local avalanches merge into kilometer-long channels.



Pervez and colleagues are also eager to test whether dramatically different thunderstorm environments - such as volcanic plumes or <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dust-storms-can-engulf-the-entire-planet-of-mars-but-how/">Martian dust storms</a> - might follow the same blueprint.



For now, the finding closes one of atmospheric science’s most enduring gaps. The unseen dance of cosmic electrons, roaring electric fields, and cascading photons turns out to be the silent countdown to every crack of lightning we witness. 



By capturing that dance in numbers, Pasko’s team has illuminated the hidden spark that electrifies the sky.



The study is published in the <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2025JD043897" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres</a>.



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What sparks lightning? Scientists have finally solved the mystery

For centuries, scientists have understood that lightning discharges when charge...

Terrestrial vegetation has been the foundation of food webs and a crucial ally in climate regulation for eons. From 2003 to 2021, that green land engine began to outpace its blue counterpart.



A new analysis draws on six independent satellite data sets to show that land plants increased their net primary production by roughly 0.2 billion metric tons of carbon each year. In contrast, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/invisible-forest-of-phytoplankton-thrives-in-a-warming-climate/">marine phytoplankton</a> lost about half that amount.



The bottom line, write Yulong Zhang and colleagues from <a href="https://duke.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Duke University</a>, is that global photosynthesis still crept upward - just not everywhere, and not for the same reasons.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-land-surge-in-net-primary-production">Land surge in net primary production </h2>



Because satellites can detect the chlorophyll pigments that make leaves and plankton appear green, researchers can turn those brightness maps into estimates of carbon fixed by <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/revealing-the-secrets-of-photosynthesis-through-pep/">photosynthesis</a>.



For this study, the team blended three terrestrial and three marine products, covering nearly two decades. They then traced the annual ups and downs in each realm.



The land situation stood out immediately. “The shift toward greater primary production on land mainly stemmed from plants in higher latitudes, where warming has extended growing seasons and created more favorable temperatures,” explained study co-author Wenhong Li.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-forests-thrive-oceans-decline">Forests thrive, oceans decline</h2>



In addition, temperate zones benefited from “local wetting in some areas, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/forests-will-struggle-without-winter-snow/">forest</a> expansion, and cropland intensification.” These gains more than compensated for a stubborn patch of stagnation across tropical South America.



Ocean productivity told a different story. “Rising <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/humans-are-substantially-changing-the-seasons-of-the-ocean/">sea surface temperatures</a> likely reduced primary production by phytoplankton in tropical and subtropical regions,” said Nicolas Cassar, senior scientist on the project.



Warmer surface layers, he noted, form a cap that suppresses the turbulent mixing needed to replenish nutrients in sun-lit waters. The result, ocean productivity declined by roughly 0.1 billion tons of carbon per year, with the Pacific basin leading the retreat.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ocean-carbon-tied-to-climate">Ocean carbon tied to climate</h2>



Although land plants dominated the long-term trend, oceans dictated much of the year-to-year variability.



“We observed that ocean primary production responds much more strongly to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/el-nino-climate-shifts-date-back-250-million-years/">El Niño</a> and La Niña than land primary production,” said study co-author Shineng Hu.



Indeed, a trio of La Niña events after 2015 temporarily reversed the downward slope in marine photosynthesis. This underlines how tightly plankton communities are lashed to climate oscillations.



The researchers parsed several environmental drivers - light, temperatures, precipitation, and mixed-layer depth - to understand why land and sea diverged. Their conclusion was that warming (and, in some places, wetter conditions) favored northern forests and fields. Meanwhile, the same warming starved tropical waters of nutrients.



“Whether the decline in ocean primary production will continue - and how long and to what extent increases on land can make up for those losses - remains a key unanswered question," noted Zhang. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ocean-losses-threaten-biodiversity">Ocean losses threaten biodiversity</h2>



Photosynthetic organisms not only fuel ecosystems; they also shape the planet’s carbon balance. Terrestrial plants, boosted by longer growing seasons and human land management, currently outweigh the losses at sea, but the margin is slim.



Should ocean productivity continue to sag, tropical <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/protected-areas-dont-always-protect-food-webs/">food webs</a> - already strained - could fray further, jeopardizing fisheries and weakening a major carbon sink. 



As the authors caution, declines in plankton and stagnation on tropical land can weaken the foundation of tropical food webs. This will have cascading effects on biodiversity, fisheries, and local economies.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-monitoring-net-primary-production">Monitoring net primary production </h2>



The synthesis highlights the need for an integrated monitoring network that treats forests and phytoplankton as parts of one global engine.



“If you’re looking at planetary health, you want to look at both terrestrial and marine domains for an integrated view of net primary production,” Cassar emphasized.



Many of the foundational studies that stitched land and sea together are now more than two decades old. Updating that picture is urgent as climate patterns shift.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-carbon-fight-shifts-from-ocean-to-land">Carbon fight shifts from ocean to land</h2>



Net primary production, the authors argue, is effectively Earth’s scoreboard for life. It registers how much solar energy is converted into the organic matter that nourishes everything else.



According to Zhang, net primary production is the amount of energy photosynthetic organisms capture and make available to support nearly all other life in an ecosystem. That metric shows if the biosphere is gaining or losing ground in sequestering atmospheric carbon.



For now, an energetic Northern Hemisphere offsets a flagging equatorial ocean. But the equilibrium is delicate, and the drivers - temperature, rainfall, nutrient mixing - are changing fast.



“Long-term, coordinated monitoring of both land and ocean ecosystems as integrated components of Earth is essential," concluded Zhang. 



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-025-02375-1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature Climate Change</a>.



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Oceans lag behind forests in Earth’s carbon fight

Terrestrial vegetation has been the foundation of food webs and...

The star labeled DFK 52 sits in the massive Stephenson 2 cluster nearly 19,000 light years away in Scutum. This red supergiant lies inside a sphere of dust and gas so vast that it strains the limits of current stellar physics.



At roughly 50,000 astronomical units (about 4.6 trillion miles) across, the bubble forms a circumstellar medium that dwarfs every previously cataloged stellar outflow. No established model explains how a single star could shed so much <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/massive-hidden-planet-found-orbiting-young-star/">material</a> so quickly.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-red-giants-shed-mass-in-late-life">Red giants shed mass in late life</h2>



“We have no idea how you can throw off this much material in that amount of time,” said Mark Siebert of the <a href="https://www.chalmers.se/en/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Chalmers University of Technology</a> who led the research.



The team used the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (<a href="https://www.eso.org/public/teles-instr/alma/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ALMA</a>) to map the faint millimeter wave glow from the expelled material. 



A red supergiant forms when a star that began its life with roughly eight or more times the Sun’s mass exhausts core hydrogen and swells to planetary scale. During this brief late phase, many such stars lose gas at rates between one ten millionth and one ten fourth of a solar mass per year.



Even the celebrity hypergiant <a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/2401.14467" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">VY CMa</a>, famous for dusty clumps, launches winds that reach only about 11,000 AU from the star. Compared with that benchmark, DFK 52’s halo is roughly five times larger.



ALMA data show parts of the shell racing outward at 27 kilometers per second, pointing to an explosive episode around 4,000 years ago. The outer layers now hold as much as a tenth of the Sun’s mass, a surprising haul for a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/tiny-star-giant-gas-planet-toi-6894b-breaks-current-planetary-formation-rules/">star</a> that itself glows only modestly.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-dfk-52-s-stunning-gas-bubble">DFK 52’s stunning gas bubble </h2>



Earlier optical and infrared surveys saw only a tame wind around DFK 52. ALMA’s sensitivity to cool molecules revealed the hidden structure, tangled filaments, nested loops, and a ring-like bar halfway out.



That bar expands at nearly 19 miles per second, consistent with a single blast that flung material outward in one go. Because the star’s present brightness is far too low to power that blast, astronomers suspect an extra energy source.



One idea is a short lived <a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/2208.10883" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">supernova</a> preparatory superwind that can drive mass loss rates above a thousandth of a solar mass per year, just as late stage models propose. The timing seems off, though, because DFK 52 has already settled back into a gentle breeze.



Another possibility involves a close companion star plunging through the bloated envelope, injecting kinetic energy and dredging up gas. Such interactions can sculpt disks, tori, or lopsided shells, but the irregular shape of DFK 52 hints that if a partner exists, the dance was messy.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-alma-reveals-new-details-of-dfk-52">ALMA reveals new details of DFK 52 </h2>



ALMA’s 37 antennas resolved details smaller than 0.2 arcseconds, about 1,200 AU at the cluster’s distance. Carbon monoxide molecules trace the shell’s full reach, confirming that dust and gas share the same sprawling domain.



Near the center, strong silicon monoxide emission reveals ongoing but much slower mass loss. That contrast signals a sudden downshift in activity after the ancient outburst.



Within the bar region, velocities vary smoothly with position, forming what the team interprets as an equatorial disk seen edge on. The disk’s mass alone approaches five hundredths of a solar mass, dwarfing many planetary nebulae.



Beyond the disk, wispy arcs spiral outward like frozen smoke strands. Their twisted geometry defeats spherical wind models, the mainstay of stellar <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/astronomers-catch-exact-moment-when-planets-form-around-a-star-hops-315/">evolution</a> codes.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-outer-ring-mystery">The outer ring mystery</h2>



The ring halfway through the bubble suggests a confined, directional blast rather than a symmetric puff. If wave heating deep in the convective envelope drove the eruption, the energy must have surfaced startlingly fast.



Dense, compact shells like this appear in early spectra of several <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nphys4025" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">type II supernovae</a>, hinting that many red supergiants dump matter in violent spurts shortly before death. DFK 52 offers a frozen snapshot of what such a spurt might look like a few millennia later.



Because the outburst happened thousands of years ago, the shell has cooled enough for molecules to survive, giving astronomers a rare chance to probe chemistry normally erased by intense radiation.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cause-behind-the-gas-outburst">Cause behind the gas outburst</h2>



Siebert’s team plans deeper ALMA runs to map faint isotopologues that betray temperature and density, plus a hunt for any hidden companion whose gravity might be the missing energy source. Optical surveys will monitor the star’s brightness in case it starts another outburst.



Whether the next mass ejection event arrives in decades or millennia, DFK 52 already forces theorists to widen the menu of late stage stellar behaviors. It reminds us that even familiar <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/new-planet-hd-135344b-captured-during-the-final-stages-of-its-formation-process/">stellar</a> giants can spring outsized surprises.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://arxiv.org/html/2507.11609v1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Astronomy &amp; Astrophysics</a>.



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Giant star creates a massive, mysterious bubble of gas

The star labeled DFK 52 sits in the massive Stephenson...

Imagine getting your next flu shot not through a syringe, but with something as familiar as flossing your teeth. 



A new proof-of-concept study led by Harvinder Singh Gill, a professor of nanomedicine at <a href="https://www.ncsu.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">North Carolina State University</a> brings that vision to life.



The team has shown, in mice, that unwaxed dental floss coated with <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/powerful-ai-algorithm-can-predict-a-persons-attitude-towards-vaccines/">vaccine</a> can be gently threaded between the teeth and gums. This sparks a powerful immune response where pathogens often strike first - the moist linings of the nose, throat, and lungs.



“Mucosal surfaces are important because they are a source of entry for pathogens, such as influenza and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-the-covid-19-virus-travels-deep-inside-our-lungs/">COVID</a>,” Gill explained. 



“However, if a vaccine is given by injection, antibodies are primarily produced in the bloodstream throughout the body, and relatively few are produced on mucosal surfaces.”



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



Conventional epithelium - the skin-like tissue that lines much of the body - forms a tight barrier. The junctional epithelium, tucked deep in the gum pocket where a tooth meets the jaw, is different. 



Lacking some of the usual protective proteins, it allows immune cells to patrol the area and intercept <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/bacteria-in-your-mouth-multiply-in-a-very-unique-way/">bacteria</a> that lurk in dental plaque.



“Because the junctional epithelium is more permeable than other epithelial tissues - and is a mucosal layer - it presents a unique opportunity for introducing vaccines to the body in a way that will stimulate enhanced antibody production across the body's mucosal layers,”&nbsp; Gill said.



Delivering antigen there, the researchers reasoned, might train the immune system without needles, sprays, or oral drops.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-floss-rivals-nasal-spray">Floss rivals nasal spray</h2>



The team compared three ways of vaccinating mice against <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-does-the-influenza-virus-hack-our-cells/">influenza</a>: flossing the gum pocket, dripping vaccine under the tongue (the current oral-cavity standard), and instilling it in the nose.



The researchers discovered that flossing outperformed the sublingual route and matched the nasal route. This is notable because intranasal vaccination often requires specially formulated antigens and carries a theoretical risk of delivering particles too close to the brain.



“Applying the vaccine via the junctional epithelium produces far superior antibody response on mucosal surfaces than via the oral cavity, which involves placing vaccine under the tongue,” reported first author Rohan Ingrole, who completed the work as a doctoral student in Gill’s lab.



“The flossing technique also provides comparable protection against flu virus as compared to the vaccine being given via the nasal epithelium.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-safe-even-near-brain">Safe, even near brain</h2>



Researchers say this new approach is extremely promising because the nasal lining blocks absorption, preventing most vaccines from being delivered through the nose.



“Intranasal delivery also has the potential to cause the vaccine to reach the brain, which can pose safety concerns. However, vaccination via the junctional epithelium offers no such risk,” said Ingrole.



Better still, the new approach worked with multiple vaccine types - proteins, inactivated viruses, and even mRNA - each time generating strong antibody levels in blood and mucosal secretions.



Whether mice nibbled food or drank water right after flossing made no difference, suggesting that ordinary eating habits would not blunt effectiveness.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-testing-floss-on-humans">Testing floss on humans</h2>



Unwinding floss around tiny mouse incisors is one thing; asking people to maneuver drug-soaked thread is another.



To gauge feasibility, the researchers dipped the filament of commercial floss picks in fluorescent <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fda-faces-scrutiny-over-synthetic-food-dyes/">food dye</a> and asked 27 adult volunteers to aim for their gum pockets.



“We found that approximately 60 percent of the dye was deposited in the gum pocket, which suggests that floss picks may be a practical vaccine delivery method to the epithelial junction,” Ingrole said.



The pilot study, while small, hints that ordinary oral-care tools might one day double as do-it-yourself vaccine applicators - no medical training required.



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



Freedom from needles could ease anxieties and speed mass immunization campaigns. “For example, it would be easy to administer, and it addresses concerns many people have about being vaccinated with needles,” Gill noted.



“And we think this technique should be comparable in price to other vaccine delivery techniques.” The method would also bypass cold sprays, which can fail if the antigen cannot cross the nasal barrier.



Limits include toothless toddlers and adults with gum disease or oral infections that may hinder vaccine uptake. The researchers need to refine dosage, ensure consistent coating of floss material, and run larger safety trials. Yet the early data encourage them.



“We're optimistic about that work and - depending on our findings - may then move toward clinical trials,” Gill said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-floss-vaccines-of-the-future">Floss vaccines of the future</h2>



If future studies confirm the promise, dental-floss vaccination could shift routine immunizations from clinics to bathrooms, adding a simple daily habit to global public health arsenals.



Beyond flu, the group plans to explore vaccines against respiratory viruses and perhaps oral boosters that top up <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/strong-immune-resilience-in-midlife-reduces-risk-of-early-death/">immunity</a> months or years after a primary shot.



By turning a humble hygiene tool into an immune ally, Gill and colleagues have opened an unexpected channel to the body’s frontline defenses. It’s a reminder that innovation can begin with nothing more than a spool of floss and a curious mind.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41551-025-01451-3" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature Biomedical Engineering</a>.



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Dental floss delivers vaccines without needles

Imagine getting your next flu shot not through a syringe,...

Gray wolf pups normally spend their first weeks tucked safely inside a den, eyes and ears still sealed, with none of the keen senses that will define them as adults.



So when biologists set remote cameras on the slopes east of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/yellowstone-supervolcano-eruption-study-sparks-new-debate-on-where-and-when-it-will-erupt/">Yellowstone National Park</a> and later scrolled through the images, they were astonished: adult wolves padding across steep, snow-dusted ridges with tiny pups dangling awkwardly from their jaws.



“The first time I saw a camera-trap photo of a wolf carrying its pup, I just cracked up because the pup is being carried by its butt,” recalled lead author Avery Shawler, who recently completed her doctorate at the <a href="https://www.berkeley.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of California, Berkeley</a>. “You can picture a squirming child and the mom just being like, ‘All right, we’re doing this.’”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-long-risky-moves-with-wolf-pups">Long, risky moves with wolf pups</h2>



That lighthearted moment led to a serious discovery. Shawler and colleagues paired thousands of GPS locations from 19 radio-collared wolves with the movements of ninety-nine elk. 



The team documented something never seen outside of the Arctic: packs taking long, risky journeys during pup-rearing season to shadow migrating prey.



Adult wolves sometimes commuted tens of miles from their dens to temporary hunting grounds. They sometimes moved entire litters over 12 miles to new sites closer to vulnerable newborn elk calves.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-wolves-climb-to-hunt-elk">Wolves climb to hunt elk</h2>



The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem hosts tens of thousands of elk, many of which leave low valleys each spring for higher, greener meadows. The ascents vary. Some herds wander only a few miles; others climb 50 or more. When the elk went far, certain wolf packs did too.



“Our findings counter years of assumptions that migratory <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/all-headgears-of-hoofed-mammals-come-from-a-common-ancestor/">hoofed mammals</a> can escape predation in spring because [their predators] are tied to dens and immobile offspring,” said senior author Arthur Middleton, a Berkeley wildlife ecologist who spent a decade tracking elk and their predators.



The data show that wolves are anything but immobile: they adapt their route, pace, and even nursery locations to keep elk within striking range.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-lugging-pups-through-the-mountains">Lugging pups through the mountains</h2>



GPS fixes revealed three broad strategies. Packs whose local elk stayed put also remained near original den sites, defending territories of roughly 15 square miles.



Others made what Shawler calls “commutes” - out-and-back forays of six to 12 miles that allowed adults to hunt migrating elk for a few days before returning to feed pups.



But the boldest tactic was true migration: entire packs shifted home ranges for weeks, lugging weeks-old pups through mountain passes in May or early June.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-moving-wolf-pups-is-dangerous">Moving wolf pups is dangerous </h2>



Moving infants is dangerous for any carnivore, but especially for wolves, which face lethal clashes with neighboring packs.



“In Yellowstone, research has shown how a lot of wolf mortality can come from other packs coming in and killing pups, because there’s a lot of packs competing for space and food,” Shawler said. “It’s pretty wild that this risky behavior of moving young pups is even occurring when that’s happening next door.”



Why gamble? Elk calves provide calorie-dense meals just when lactating females and growing pups need them most.



Climate change, however, is scrambling the timing of that resource. Earlier studies from Middleton’s lab show that elk now arrive on winter ranges as much as 50 days later than they did at the turn of the millennium, which lengthens the spring <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/birds-may-be-using-quantum-physics-for-migration/">migration</a>. 



Wolves apparently respond by prolonging their migration patterns too, refusing to let dinner disappear over the horizon.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ranchers-may-face-more-wolf-risks">Ranchers may face more wolf risks</h2>



More than five hundred wolves now roam the Yellowstone region, and many spend part of the year beyond park borders where cattle and sheep graze. Understanding when and where packs migrate could help ranchers anticipate predation risk.



“Our research provides some insight into the behavior of wolves living on working landscapes and how they’ve had to adapt to an environment that is different from what wolves were dealing with 100 years ago,” Shawler noted.



That insight is timely for California, where wolves recolonized in 2011 and now number perhaps a hundred across ten packs. Middleton, who co-leads the new <a href="https://wildlife.berkeley.edu/cawolfproject/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">California Wolf Project</a>, said the lessons from Yellowstone are shaping questions farther west.



“While it’s still early days, our partners in California have a strong hunch that the numbers and movements of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-does-climate-change-affect-deer-its-complicated/">deer</a> and elk are playing into wolf behavior, including livestock predation,” he explained. “The work around Yellowstone sharpens our ideas and approaches as we grow the project in California.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-climate-change-alters-migration-patterns">Climate change alters migration patterns</h2>



Both prey and predator are feeling the pressure of a warming, busier West. Earlier <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/changes-humidity-snowmelt-water/">snowmelt</a> and altered plant growth tug elk migration schedules in new directions, while expanding human settlement fragments habitat. Wolves reveal that cascade in real time. 



Their bold pup-carrying journeys are, in Middleton’s words, “a moving barometer of ecosystem change.”



For Shawler, the discovery also carries a note of wonder. Each blurred camera-trap frame of a mother wolf trotting uphill with a pup clamped gently in her jaws speaks to resilience. It also reveals the deep ecological choreography linking large carnivores with the great migrations of the hoofed animals they hunt.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0960982225008814" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Current Biology</a>.



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Wolves move pups across mountains to adapt to climate pressure

Gray wolf pups normally spend their first weeks tucked safely...

What if your own home became a health hazard every summer? As heat waves grow longer, hotter, and deadlier, aging individuals, especially those living alone, are finding it harder to stay safe inside homes that were never built for such extremes.



But what exactly is making their homes unsafe? In a recent study, conducted in the Basque Country, Spain, researchers examined how older adults who were living independently experienced heat waves. The team also identified the key factors that make houses unsafe in extreme heat.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-older-people-experience-heat-waves">How older people experience heat waves</h2>



Standard environmental tools that measure thermal comfort may not fully capture the complexities of how older people experience intense heat throughout the day.



Thus, there is a need for non-intrusive and context-sensitive methods to capture both the physical and emotional sides of heat discomfort in the older population.



The researchers, including study lead author Urtza Uriarte-Otazua, examined the impact of heat waves on independently living <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/older-adults-climate-fears-surge-after-extreme-weather/">older individuals</a> in two different types of housing environments.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-heat-waves-and-housing-features">Heat waves and housing features</h2>



The team combined on-site monitoring, interviews, and user surveys to understand how older individuals coped with the 2022 heat waves in two separate dwellings. One dwelling was in a typical urban setting and the other was in a small village in a peri-urban environment.



The researchers examined the impact of building features, such as accessibility, passive cooling capacity, and adaptability, on the resilience and vulnerability of the aging residents during <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-has-made-heatwaves-more-deadly/">extreme heat conditions</a>.



The study highlighted that heat risks are complex, and tailored solutions are required to improve the thermal comfort and well-being of aging individuals.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-older-adults-at-risk-during-heat-waves">Older adults at risk during heat waves</h2>



The results showed that living alone and staying in hot indoor spaces with elevated temperatures were some of the risk factors affecting the older population. In addition, age-related physiological decline, chronic health conditions, and social isolation reduce the ability of older people to cope with the extreme heat.



In the study area, a significant proportion of older people lived alone. Furthermore, they often lived in older houses that lacked proper thermal insulation, mechanical cooling systems and shading.&nbsp;



The research team found that 30 percent of multi-story residential buildings in the Basque region have no elevators, meaning that older residents must walk up and down stairs to access their apartments. This particularly affected those living on upper floors, and also limited their access to cooler spaces.



Many urban and peri-urban homes built before 1980 do not meet modern energy efficiency standards. Even in modern buildings, like <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/nearly-zero-energy-building" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">nZEBs</a> (nearly zero-energy buildings), excessive airtightness or sunlight can lead to indoor overheating when passive cooling is not properly applied.



With increased frequency and prolonged heat waves, it is vital to make homes cool to safeguard the health of the aging residents.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-southern-europe-faces-heat-wave-threats">Southern Europe faces heat wave threats</h2>



The situation in the Basque Country is not unique. Heat waves are becoming more intense, frequent, and prolonged in many other parts of the world, including Southern Europe and the Iberian Peninsula.



According to the <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/report/sixth-assessment-report-working-group-ii/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">IPCC</a>'s (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) sixth assessment report, temperatures in Europe will continue to rise faster than the global average. Since the 1980s, the number of heat waves per decade has more than doubled in Spain.



Due to the <a href="https://climatekids.nasa.gov/heat-islands/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">UHI</a> (Urban Heat Island) effect, extreme heat especially impacts urban areas. Heat stress poses serious health risks, particularly for aging individuals. With heat waves becoming a deadly threat, their recognition as a public health issue has never been more urgent.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-policy-changes-to-safeguard-older-adults">Policy changes to safeguard older adults</h2>



The architectural gaps, when combined with social vulnerabilities, point to an urgent need for structural and policy-level interventions.



Although heat wave patterns, like frequency and intensity, are well studied, researchers have paid less attention to how the features of houses and buildings affect <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/study-reveals-countries-most-at-risk-from-extreme-heat/">heat risk</a> for older people in their daily lives.



Targeted, heat-resilient housing strategies need to prioritize the aging population. Houses built before the 1980s need to be upgraded with passive cooling features such as night <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/viruses-can-linger-for-hours-in-areas-with-poor-ventilation/">ventilation</a>, cross-ventilation, and external shading systems.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-future-support-for-vulnerable-adults">Future support for vulnerable adults</h2>



The government could provide financial support to install elevators in multi-storey buildings where older people live without mobility alternatives. Municipal authorities could establish programs that offer transport and access to local cooling centers during heat waves.



Housing assessments should also include social and emotional indicators, like validated loneliness scales. These steps may improve both heat safety and social support for vulnerable adults, thus potentially enhancing their physical and mental well-being.



With the right approach, it is possible to turn houses into true homes - places of safety and comfort for older adults - even during extreme heat. This is the vision for an inclusive and resilient future.



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/15/13/2274">Buildings</a>.



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Older adults may not be safe from heat waves, even inside their homes

What if your own home became a health hazard every...

Not long after the Big Bang, the universe was still scorching hot and filled with loose particles. It took hundreds of thousands of years before things cooled down enough for atoms to come together and form the first molecule. That molecule was the helium hydride ion (HeH⁺).



Dr. Holger Kreckel and his team at the Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics (<a href="https://www.mpi-hd.mpg.de/mpi/en/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">MPIK</a>) discovered that one of this molecule’s most important reactions happens much faster than scientists used to think. That <a href="https://www.aanda.org/articles/aa/full_html/2025/07/aa55316-25/aa55316-25.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">finding</a> changes how we understand the birth of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ancient-radio-signal-just-changed-what-we-know-about-the-early-universe/">stars</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-first-molecule-cooled-universe">First molecule cooled universe</h2>



HeH⁺ forms when a helium atom grabs a proton, creating a charged molecule. Because it can give off energy in several ways, it helps hot gas cool down. This cooling is necessary for gas clouds to collapse and eventually create <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/three-red-monsters-discovered-very-early-universe-webb-telescope-new-era/">stars</a>.



As the gas cools more, gravity pulls it tighter, and the pressure builds until nuclear fusion kicks in. That’s how stars begin. Whether or not enough helium hydride survives during this time has a big effect on whether stars can form.



In 2019, scientists finally spotted HeH⁺ in space, in a cloud called NGC 7027. The molecule looked just like predictions had said, proving it was real and active in the cosmos.



But HeH⁺ doesn’t last forever. It reacts with other atoms like hydrogen or deuterium (a form of hydrogen with an extra neutron), and turns into different molecules. That reduces how much of it is available to help gas clouds cool down when it matters most.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-helium-hydride-reacts-faster">Helium hydride reacts faster</h2>



For years, scientists believed this HeH⁺ reaction slowed way down at cold temperatures. They thought there was an invisible barrier stopping the reaction from happening easily. But newer <a href="https://pubs.aip.org/aip/jcp/article/161/14/144312/3316842/Low-temperature-dynamics-of-H-HeH-H2-He-reaction" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">research</a> suggests that barrier might not exist after all.



Kreckel’s team put this idea to the test in a lab. They made HeH⁺ ions and hit them with deuterium atoms at temperatures just above absolute zero to mimic conditions in the early <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-planets-formed-in-the-harsh-early-universe/">universe</a>.



“Previous theories predicted a significant decrease in the reaction probability at low temperatures, but we were unable to verify this,” explained Dr. Kreckel. To their surprise, the reaction still happened quickly, even when it was freezing cold. 



If the reaction was always fast, there may have been much less HeH⁺ around than we thought. That means it may have played a smaller role in early star formation than many scientists assumed.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-hydrogen-cooled-the-universe-sooner">Hydrogen cooled the universe sooner</h2>



If HeH⁺ wasn’t around in large amounts, other cooling methods must have taken over. One of those is molecular hydrogen (H₂), a very common molecule. It doesn’t cool gas as efficiently as HeH⁺, but once it forms, it gets the job done over a broader temperature range.



The new findings suggest that this shift from HeH⁺ to H₂ happened sooner than expected. That would change how quickly clouds of gas could cool and become stars.



Cooling affects the size of the first stars. If a cloud cools slowly, it needs to collect more gas before it can start fusion, making the star bigger. Faster cooling means smaller <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/milky-way-like-galaxies-were-present-in-the-early-universe/">stars</a> could form. That would lead to more variety in the first generations of stars.



Less HeH⁺ also affects how we read the oldest light in the universe. This light, called the cosmic microwave background (<a href="https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Cosmic_Microwave_Background_CMB_radiation" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CMB</a>), can be influenced by molecules like HeH⁺. If there was less of it, we may need to rethink how that light moved through space.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-first-molecules-in-the-early-universe">First molecules in the early universe </h2>



The team used a special machine called the Cryogenic Storage Ring (<a href="https://www.mpi-hd.mpg.de/mpi/de/forschung/abteilungen-und-gruppen/gespeicherte-und-gekuehlte-ionen/forschung/csr" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CSR</a>), which is a large, super-cold ring where particles can move around for up to a minute. This gave them time to study the reactions closely.



They sent in a beam of deuterium atoms to meet the HeH⁺ ions, then checked how many new molecules were made. By changing the speed of the particles, they could see how the reaction changed at different temperatures.



The result was clear. The reaction stayed fast across the board. This matched new computer models from physicist Yohann Scribano’s group, which had corrected a mistake in earlier calculations. The new models and lab tests agreed.



That’s good news for scientists trying to build accurate models of the early universe. The better the data, the better the predictions about when and how the first stars formed.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-helium-hydride-changed-star-formation">Helium hydride changed star formation</h2>



With less HeH⁺ sticking around, gas clouds might have started forming hydrogen molecules sooner. That would let the gas cool faster and break apart into smaller pieces, leading to stars of different sizes.



But there’s another side to this. If HeH⁺ was helping gas clouds collapse, losing it too fast might have slowed star formation in some areas. How this all plays out depends on many other factors, like how dense the gas is and how much light is nearby.



This matters for understanding how the universe got its first carbon, oxygen, and other elements. Those came from the first stars exploding. If those stars formed at different times than we thought, our timeline for the spread of these elements might shift too.



It also affects predictions about gravitational waves. The first stars could have left behind huge black holes. If they formed in different numbers or sizes, it would change what we expect to find with space-based detectors like <a href="https://lisa.nasa.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">LISA</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-future-research-directions">Future research directions </h2>



Next, researchers will use this updated reaction speed in their computer simulations. They’ll see how it affects predictions about ancient stars and distant light patterns. Early results are expected within a year.



Meanwhile, scientists want to repeat the experiment using regular hydrogen instead of deuterium. Most of the universe is hydrogen, so testing this reaction will give an even clearer picture.



The storage ring is also getting an upgrade so particles can be stored longer. That will help scientists study even rarer reactions and maybe figure out how often HeH⁺ forms in the first place.



Researchers are also exploring other ancient molecules like lithium hydride (LiH) and hydrogen fluoride (HF). Each one plays a small role in cooling or shaping the early universe. By collecting more data, scientists can piece together the full picture.



Finally, astronomers are trying to detect helium hydride in more places. Seeing how strong its signals are in different environments could help confirm how much of it was out there billions of years ago.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.aanda.org/articles/aa/full_html/2025/07/aa55316-25/aa55316-25.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Astronomy &amp; Astrophysics</a>.



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How the universe’s first molecule helped ignite the stars

Not long after the Big Bang, the universe was still...

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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Worms dominated seas before dinosaurs

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



The full study was published in the journal Current Biology.



-----



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Earth's oldest forest found in the United States

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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The environmental problem we actually solved

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

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

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







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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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What to plant in your garden in mid-July

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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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Wildlife tunnels save millions of amphibians

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Is chocolate the next nutritional powerhouse?

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

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

[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?

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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