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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

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

A Styrofoam (polystyrene plastic) take‑out food box can outlive its owner and their children. It weathers rain, sunlight, and curbside crushes yet still hangs around, splintering into smaller shards instead of disappearing.



An Australian research team now reports a way to erase 90% of that throw‑away <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/common-plastic-food-packaging-contains-9936-harmful-chemicals/">plastic</a> in just thirty minutes, using nothing more exotic than air, purple light, and a pinch of table-grade chemicals.



<a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=XqtHx8oAAAAJ&amp;hl=fr" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Dr. Maxime Michelas</a> of the University of New South Wales School of Chemical Engineering (<a href="https://www.unsw.edu.au/engineering/our-schools/chemical-engineering">UNSW</a>), working with colleagues in the <a href="https://www.unsw.edu.au/science/our-schools/chemistry" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">School of Chemistry</a> and <a href="https://www.csiro.au/en/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CSIRO</a>, describes the method in a recent study. 



Their approach slices stubborn polymers into bite‑size molecules that industry already uses to make solvents, coatings, and flavors.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-polystyrene-plastic-linger-for-centuries">Polystyrene plastic linger for centuries</h2>



Humanity produces more than four hundred million tons of plastic per year, and the figure keeps climbing even where <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-scientists-are-using-air-to-recycle-plastic/">recycling</a> programs thrive. Most items are designed for single use, yet their bonds resist microbial attack and sunshine alike.



Polystyrene poses a special headache. The foamed version is restricted in several U.S. states, yet analysts expect global demand to reach sixty‑two million tons within a decade. 



Its light weight means flakes travel far on the wind, then fracture into microplastics that slip through standard filters and into drinking water.



Medical <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11117644/">journals</a> now link those particles to oxidative stress and endothelial dysfunction in animal and cell models. Surgeons have even found plastic fragments embedded in arterial plaque removed from heart patients.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-turning-sunlight-into-a-scalpel">Turning sunlight into a scalpel</h2>



Michelas’ team turns the low‑cost salt iron trichloride into an aggressive photocatalyst. 



When a 405‑nanometer LED excites the salt, it spawns chlorine radicals that yank hydrogen atoms off the polymer backbone. 



The orphaned carbon grabs oxygen from the air, the chain snaps, and the plastic’s mass plunges.



The setup looks almost rudimentary. A glass flask sits on a stir plate, air or pure oxygen bubbles through a dichloromethane solution of shredded plastic and five mole percent catalyst, and a small LED panel shines from the side.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-dissolving-plastic-by-90">Dissolving plastic by 90%</h2>



Under those conditions the authors report a 90% mass loss for seven commodity polymers in half an hour.



Extending exposure to three hours pushes conversion to 97%, a milestone that once demanded day‑long lamp times.



For the fastest substrates, including <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8435462/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">poly(ethylene oxide)</a> and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/polymethyl-methacrylate" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">poly(methyl acrylate)</a>, most bond‑breaking happens in the first ten minutes. 



Even polyvinyl chloride, notorious for its tight packing and limited solubility, gave up seventy‑eight percent in the half‑hour window.



“I think it’s very important to degrade the polymer and turn it into another feedstock we can use for other things, or just to reduce the amount of microplastics in the world,” noted Dr. Michelas.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-from-trash-to-toolkit-chemicals">From trash to toolkit chemicals</h2>



Breaking chains is only half the story. Gas‑chromatography traces reveal a soup rich in small aldehydes and carboxylic acids that can feed into paint, adhesive, or fragrance manufacture with little additional purification.



Because the catalyst is iron and the reaction runs near room temperature, the energy bill looks minimal compared with pyrolysis or incineration. 



The group demonstrated a fifty‑gram‑per‑liter run that held over eighty‑five percent efficiency, then regained speed simply by bubbling in fresh oxygen when the gas was spent.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-checking-the-energy-math">Checking the energy math</h2>



A 2023 <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/12/3041" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">case study</a> of a decentralized pyrolysis unit showed that processing 360 tons of mixed plastic per year demanded about 560 MWh of electricity, or roughly 1,550 kWh for every ton treated. 



That figure dwarfs the LED‑lit UNSW setup, which relies mainly on ambient heat and the modest power draw of a few lamps.



While the pyrolysis plant did recover energy by burning the oil it made, the upfront input highlights why lower‑temperature chemistry matters. 



Slashing kilowatt‑hours per ton means smaller carbon footprints and lower operating bills, especially in regions where electricity still comes from coal.



For context, running a fifteen‑watt LED strip for half an hour consumes about 0.015 kWh, orders of magnitude below even the leanest pyrolysis benchmarks. 



Multiply that by thousands of lamps in parallel, and the energy tab still lands far south of <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/B9780128228104000221" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">thermochemical routes</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-savings-for-cities-and-companies">Savings for cities and companies</h2>



Foamed polystyrene can occupy up to thirty percent of landfill volume by space, prompting bans in California, Maine, and Maryland that steer eateries toward plant‑based or recyclable packaging. 



Yet many municipalities still receive tons of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/new-ai-designed-material-is-light-as-foam-tough-as-steel/">foam</a>, paying transport costs on material that weighs almost nothing but swallows cubic yards.



A low‑temperature, bench‑scale unit could let waste haulers liquefy that foam onsite, drain the product into drums, and sell it to chemical distributors. Haulers would cut diesel miles, and cities would shrink the footprint of their transfer stations.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-less-polystyrene-plastic-better-health">Less polystyrene plastic, better health</h2>



Environmental <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10151227/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">researchers</a> estimate the average person ingests about five grams of dispersed plastic per week, roughly the weight of a credit card. 



By tackling items most prone to shedding, like takeaway containers, the UNSW chemistry could noticeably dent that intake.



Though the catalyst cannot vacuum particles already loose in rivers, less fragmentation upstream means fewer specks small enough to cross gut or lung barriers. 



Lower exposure could reduce inflammatory burdens now documented in lab studies, easing a growing public‑health worry.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-saving-earth-from-polystyrene-plastics">Saving Earth from polystyrene plastics</h2>



No exotic materials are required, so startups could prototype light‑reactor tubes that rely on midday sun instead of LEDs in sunny regions. 



Developers might even graft the concept onto existing plastic‑sorting lines, dropping shredded waste into solvent loops rather than balers.



Regulators drafting extended‑producer‑responsibility rules can nudge investment by counting photochemical conversion toward plastic‑recovery targets. 



Clarity on permitting would address solvent handling and air emissions, two hurdles that often stall new recycling infrastructure.



Further lab work will probe whether iron salts push <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/new-catalyst-precatalyst-improves-clean-hydrogen-production-to-99-9-efficiency/">hydrogen</a>‑atom transfer in cross‑linked elastomers or complex multilayer films. Each additional success widens the path to a circular economy that values the carbon already in circulation.



Funding agencies often favor technologies that link waste reduction to high‑value outputs, and solvent‑phase depolymerization fits that brief. 



Venture groups in Australia and Singapore have already begun scouting pilot‑scale demonstrations, according to the authors.



The study is published in <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/marc.202400358" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Macromolecular Rapid Communications</a>.



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New chemical process breaks down 90% of plastic in just 30 minutes

A Styrofoam (polystyrene plastic) take‑out food box can outlive its...

The dream of living beyond Earth demands fresh food far from our planet. The Moon-Rice project is pioneering this vision by experimenting with future-proof crops for space. One day, this initiative could supply nutritious food to astronauts and people living in harsh environments on Earth.



Today, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/space-lettuce-nasas-plans-to-grow-nutritious-plants-on-mars/">space</a> missions depend on supplies from Earth. These include ready-to-eat meals that lack fresh ingredients. Such meals often miss essential nutrients that the human body needs, especially during long missions.



For deep space exploration, we must grow food rich in vitamins and fiber. The Moon-Rice project aims to create such crops. Their goal is to sustain life in deep space missions.



“Living in space is all about recycling resources and living sustainably,” said Marta Del Bianco, a plant biologist at the <a href="https://www.asi.it/en/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Italian Space Agency</a>. “We are trying to solve the same problems that we face here on Earth.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tiny-rice-is-key-for-space-food">Tiny rice is key for space food</h2>



Dr. Del Bianco noted that the main challenge: crop size. Many dwarf rice types are still too large for space farming. “What we need is a super-dwarf, but this comes with its own challenges.”



“Dwarf varieties often come from the manipulation of a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/why-do-astronauts-meals-lose-flavor-in-space/">plant</a> hormone called gibberellin, which can reduce the height of the plant, but this also creates problems for seed germination. They're not an ideal crop, because in space, you just don't have to be small, you must also be productive.”



Since space farming demands high-yield crops that are compact, scientists face the tough task of balancing plant size with productivity.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-united-efforts-for-innovation">United efforts for innovation</h2>



In addition to the Italian Space Agency, the research involved the work of experts from three Italian universities.



The <a href="https://www.unimi.it/en">University of Milan</a> has a strong background in rice genetics, the University of Rome ‘Sapienza’ specializes in crop physiology manipulation, and the University of Naples ‘Federico II’ has a rich heritage in space crop production.



“We started this four-year project nine months ago, so it’s very much a work in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/futuristic-food-supply-transforming-co2-into-protein/">progress</a>, but the preliminary results we have now are really promising,” said Del Bianco.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tiny-rice-plants-with-more-protein">Tiny rice plants with more protein</h2>



Scientists at the University of Milan have discovered tiny rice varieties. These grow only 10 centimeters tall.



“Researchers at the University of Milan are isolating mutant rice varieties that can grow to just 10 cm high, so they’re really tiny and this is a great starting point,” said Del Bianco. “At the same time, Rome has identified genes that can alter the plant architecture to maximize production and growth efficiency.”



In addition to compactness, the team is enhancing rice protein levels. Meat production will not be practical in space, so protein-rich <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/novel-stretchy-sensors-could-transform-space-farming/">crops</a> are vital.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-testing-rice-plants-in-fake-gravity">Testing rice plants in fake gravity</h2>



According to Dr. Del Bianco, the team investigated how the rice plants would respond to microgravity. This type of research helps ensure the plants can survive space conditions.



“We simulate microgravity on Earth by continually rotating the plant so that the plant is pulled equally in all directions by gravity. Each side of the plant gets activated continuously and it doesn't know where the up and down is,” she said.



“It's the best we can do on Earth because, unfortunately, doing experiments in real microgravity conditions - i.e. in space - is complex and expensive.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-fresh-food-helps-mental-health">Fresh food helps mental health</h2>



Fresh food does more than nourish the body. It also boosts <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mental-illness-is-caused-by-the-whole-body-not-just-the-brain/">mental health.</a>



“Watching and guiding plants to grow is good for humans, and while pre-cooked or mushy food can be fine for a short period of time, it could become a concern for longer-duration missions,” said Del Bianco.



Astronauts need both physical and psychological support during their missions. Their health directly affects mission success. Mistakes in space can be costly or even deadly.



“If we can make an environment that physically and mentally nourishes the astronauts, it will reduce stress and lower the chances of people making mistakes. In space, the best case of a mistake is wasted money, and the worst case is the loss of lives,” said Del Bianco.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-space-rice-could-help-farmers">Space rice could help farmers</h2>



The Moon-Rice project has benefits beyond space. It could help farmers on Earth too.



“If you can develop a robust crop for space, then it could be used at the Arctic and Antarctic poles, or in deserts, or places with only a small amount of indoor space available,” said Del Bianco.



The research will be presented at the <a href="https://www.sebiology.org" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Society for Experimental Biology Annual Conference</a> in Antwerp, Belgium, on July 9, 2025.



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Tiny rice plants could help astronauts grow food in space

The dream of living beyond Earth demands fresh food far...

Silicon has run almost every computer processor for six decades, but engineers recognize that shrinking silicon components is nearing its physical limits. 



Experts are exploring quantum <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-create-a-two-dimensional-carbon-material-eight-times-stronger-than-graphene/">materials</a>, which could offer entirely new ways to process and store information beyond the capabilities of silicon.



A new <a href="https://arxiv.org/html/2407.07953v3" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">experiment</a> shows that a single crystal of tantalum disulfide (<a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/2053-1583/aaa104" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">TaS2</a>) can toggle from an electrical insulator to a metal in picoseconds. 



This could lead to the development of computers and electronics that run 1,000 times faster compared to today’s best chips.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-quantum-switching-works">How quantum switching works</h2>



Alberto de la Torre of <a href="https://www.northeastern.edu/">Northeastern University</a> and collaborators triggered the toggle through “thermal quenching.” This technique uses a swift heat pulse followed by an equally swift cooldown that forces the lattice across a sharp phase boundary.



The boundary lies within a family of quantum materials - solids where collective quantum rules govern electron motion instead of classical particle flow. These quantum effects let outside stimuli switch macroscopic properties almost instantly.



The team studied the layered compound <a href="https://2dsemiconductors.com/TaS2-Crystal-1T/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">1T‑TaS₂</a>, heating it above 580°F, then cooling it at roughly 120°F per second. Domains of a hidden metallic phase froze next to the usual insulating domains, creating an electronic switch confined to one crystal.



X‑ray maps confirmed that the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/graphene-wonder-material-changing-the-world-is-officially-declared-safe-for-humans/">metallic</a> domains stay ordered up to 410°F for months - something previous laser‑driven attempts never achieved.



Measurements revealed that the metallic regions had electrons available to move around at the Fermi level, which is a key sign of electrical conductivity.



By comparison, nearby insulating areas still showed a gap where no electrons could move, which is typical of a Mott insulator. This confirmed that the differences between the regions were due to the material’s electronic structure - not random defects.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-quantum-material-for-faster-computers">Quantum material for faster computers</h2>



Electrons in 1T‑TaS₂ self‑organize into a charge density wave, a periodic modulation of charge that usually locks the material into an insulating state.



A 2014 Science <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24723607/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">report</a> demonstrated that a femtosecond laser pulse could disrupt that modulation and reveal a “hidden” metallic state, though only for microseconds at cryogenic temperatures.



De la Torre’s thermal route extends the lifetime by twelve orders of magnitude and lifts the operating temperature by more than 350°F, removing the <a href="https://cryospain.com/superfluid-the-importance-of-liquid-helium" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">liquid‑helium</a> plumbing that once made the idea impractical.



Keeping both phases inside one crystal also eliminates the need for carefully matched interfaces, because the same atoms carry out either function depending on how they are cooled.



Researchers reviewing <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38518359/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CDW physics</a> in atomically <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/natrevmats201733" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">thin dichalcogenides</a> note that such intrinsic reconfigurability is valuable for next‑generation logic and memory.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-quantum-leap-in-chip-speed">Quantum leap in chip speed</h2>



“Processors work in gigahertz right now. The speed of change that this would enable would allow you to go to terahertz,” said de la Torre.&nbsp;



That boost comes from the fact that a lattice vibration can reverse the phase in femtoseconds, far faster than the tens of nanoseconds a silicon transistor needs to charge and discharge its gate capacitance.



“There’s nothing faster than light, and we’re using light to control material properties at essentially the fastest possible speed that’s allowed by physics,” said Gregory Fiete, professor of physics at Northeastern University.



Simulations of mixed photothermal stimuli show that steering the phase in 1T‑TaS₂ could support <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12095559/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">optoelectronic logic</a> that responds in under two microseconds at 0.29 THz, already demonstrated in proof‑of‑concept circuits.



Even without optical assistance, electrical pulses as short as eight nanoseconds have induced the transition in thin‑film devices, suggesting that conventional wiring could still exploit the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/new-ai-designed-material-is-light-as-foam-tough-as-steel/">effect</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-hurdles-to-faster-computers">Key hurdles to faster computers </h2>



The <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsphotonics.4c00124">thermal quench</a> was performed on flakes tens of microns thick, so engineers must verify that the mixed quantum state persists when the material is thinned to a few nanometers - the scale needed for chip stacking.



Repeated cycling could also drive domain walls to creep, slowly degrading the contrast between metallic and insulating pockets; <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10713631/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">in‑operando cryogenic electron microscopy</a> has already observed defect‑driven drift during voltage pulsing.



Another hurdle is <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acsnano.9b02870" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Joule self‑heating</a>, which might trigger unintended phase flips when current density rises. Modeling shows that careful substrate choice and pulse shaping can keep device temperatures below the critical threshold even at gigahertz repetition rates.



Finally, large-scale adoption will require a fabrication recipe compatible with back-end-of-line temperatures. 



Researchers are exploring chemical vapor deposition routes that deposit stoichiometric <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360319924056702">TaS₂</a> below 840°F, comfortably inside standard process windows.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-faster-computers-that-use-less-energy">Faster computers that use less energy</h2>



Physicists are now mapping the free-energy landscape of competing phases in 1T‑TaS₂. They hope to tune the balance with strain, electrostatic gating, or chemical substitution - a strategy predicted to widen the stability window of the metallic domains.



Device architects envision stacking several dichalcogenide layers, each phase programmed independently. This approach could build three-dimensional arrays of ultrafast, non-volatile bits that couple directly to photonic waveguides, reducing data movement energy.



If those prototypes scale, logic blocks could reach a trillion cycles per second while drawing only a fraction of the power used by today’s computer processors.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-where-quantum-materials-could-lead">Where quantum materials could lead</h2>



Ultrafast phase control in layered dichalcogenides feeds into the wider effort to program material properties with light, pressure, or electric field on demand, a trend chronicled in recent <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41377-024-01380-x" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reviews</a> of nanoscale light-matter engineering.



Such dynamic tuning could link the 1T‑TaS₂ switch to qubits, terahertz antennas, or neuromorphic synapses, letting one crystal act as memory, logic, and communication element without extra interconnect layers.



Researchers also believe that this mix of metallic and insulating regions will help test fundamental ideas in nonequilibrium physics.



 If engineers can overcome the integration challenges, they could create heterogeneous stacks that deliver server-class performance in handheld modules, using far less power and enabling faster, more efficient computers.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://arxiv.org/html/2407.07953v3" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature Physics</a>.



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Quantum material discovery could make all electronics 1,000 times faster

Silicon has run almost every computer processor for six decades,...

It’s easy to assume that when fish hang still in the water, they’re taking a break. After all, they look motionless - just calmly suspended in place. But new research shows that this “hovering” is actually a demanding task that takes more effort than resting.



The study comes from scientists at the University of California San Diego’s <a href="https://scripps.ucsd.edu/">Scripps Institution of Oceanography</a>. It focused on how fish manage to stay still in open water without sinking or drifting away.



The team found that fish burn nearly twice as much energy while hovering as they do when resting on the tank floor. That means what looks like rest is really anything but.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-rethinking-stillness-in-fish">Rethinking stillness in fish</h2>



Most bony fish have swim bladders - gas-filled sacs that help them stay neutrally buoyant, which make them neither float upward nor sink. 



Because of this, researchers once thought that hovering was easy. But the new findings challenge that idea.



The scientists studied 13 different <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/small-fish-species-are-the-big-catch-of-the-future/">fish species</a> with swim bladders. Each fish was placed in a special tank where its oxygen use was recorded during two behaviors: resting on the bottom and hovering midwater. 



At the same time, high-speed cameras captured every fin twitch and tail flick.



The team also measured body features like the shape of the fish and the position of its <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fins-and-limbs-share-a-deep-evolutionary-history/">fins</a>. One key measurement was the distance between the fish’s center of mass and center of buoyancy. 



These don’t always align. That small misalignment creates instability, which the fish must constantly correct.



“Hovering is a bit like trying to balance on a bicycle that’s not moving,” said Valentina Di Santo, an assistant professor at UC San Diego and study author.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-stability-drains-fish-energy">Stability drains fish energy</h2>



Because of the mismatch between mass and buoyancy, hovering fish have to work against the natural tendency to roll, tilt, or drift. 



The more misaligned those centers are, the more energy the fish burns trying to stay still. That constant effort means hovering is far from restful.



“What struck me was how superbly all these fishes maintain a stable posture, despite their intrinsic instability,” said Di Santo.



Fish with more compact, deeper bodies like goldfish or pufferfish were better at hovering efficiently. In contrast, longer, thinner fish - like giant danios or shell dwellers - had to work harder. 



Fin position also played a role. Fish with pectoral fins placed farther back on their bodies generally hovered more efficiently. The researchers believe this may be due to improved leverage.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-goldfish-have-an-edge">Goldfish have an edge</h2>



“This changes how we see hovering. It’s not a form of rest at all,” said Di Santo. “It’s an energetically costly activity but one that fish engage in anyway because it can be very useful.”



Fish may hover when guarding a nest, feeding in a specific spot, or holding their place in fast-moving water. These tasks require them to stay stable in one position, even when it’s exhausting. 



The study also pointed out a trade-off. Fish with shapes that give them greater control and agility often burn more energy while hovering. Meanwhile, more stable shapes are less agile.



But that trade-off may be worth it. Being able to move nimbly through coral reefs or complex underwater environments is key to survival.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-fish-inspire-robot-design">Fish inspire robot design</h2>



The findings could also influence the next generation of underwater vehicles. Most robots today are built to be stable. But like fish, that stability may limit their agility.



“By studying how fish achieve this balance, we can gain powerful design principles for building more efficient, responsive underwater technologies,” said Di Santo.



For engineers, this could mean building in a bit of instability and designing systems that, like fins, actively correct for it. 



Doing so could allow underwater robots to better explore tight or cluttered environments, such as coral reefs or wreck sites.



“If you want a robot that can maneuver through tight spaces, you might have to learn from these fishes to design in some instability and then add systems that can dynamically maintain stability when needed,” said Di Santo.



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Fish don’t rest while hovering - it's actually hard work

It’s easy to assume that when fish hang still in...

A global team of researchers has delivered new evidence that public backing for climate measures rises when people connect extreme weather with climate change.



The findings also reveal a nuanced picture. Certain hazards, such as <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mapping-marine-heatwaves-to-understand-their-impacts/">heatwaves</a> and tropical cyclones, appear to shift attitudes more than others - and the size of this shift varies widely across regions.



The study gauged support for a suite of government policy measures. These included higher taxes on carbon-intensive foods, steeper levies on fossil fuels, expanded public transport infrastructure, wider deployment of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/tapping-into-the-natural-power-of-plants-for-renewable-energy/">renewable energy</a>, and stronger protection of forests and other natural land.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-disaster-blame-shapes-climate-views">Disaster blame shapes climate views</h2>



Using a dataset that blended satellite-derived records of natural disasters including storms, floods, fires, and droughts with survey responses from 68 countries, the authors estimated how many citizens had faced each hazard in recent years. They then compared that exposure to stated policy preferences.



The results highlight the psychological weight of attribution - the extent to which respondents believe climate change has intensified local disasters.&nbsp;



“Our data suggest that if individuals attribute extreme weather events to climate change, support for climate policies is higher regardless of whether the events are more frequent,” the scientists explained.



They also conceded that reverse causality is possible: environmentally minded citizens may be more inclined to blame climate change for a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/can-we-outrun-the-flood-risks-of-climate-change/">flood</a> or heatwave.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-biggest-supporters-of-climate-policies">Biggest supporters of climate policies</h2>



Taxation remains a tough sell. “Increasing carbon taxes received the lowest support, with only 22 percent and 29 percent of people, respectively, indicating they very much supported increased taxes on carbon-intensive foods and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/more-warnings-fossil-fuels-are-causing-climate-health-and-biodiversity-crises/">fossil fuels</a>,” the authors wrote.



“Protecting forested and land areas, by contrast, was a popular policy option. Eighty-two percent supported it very much and only three percent not supporting it at all.” 



Renewables ranked second, drawing strong approval from three in four respondents. Demographic factors moderated these views. 



“Participants who identified as men, were younger, more religious, had higher education, higher income, left-leaning politics, and who lived in urban areas were more likely to support climate policies,” the researchers explained.



Such patterns echo earlier work on environmental attitudes but gain statistical heft when paired with hard numbers on disaster exposure.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-some-disasters-matter-more">Some disasters matter more</h2>



Support was highest across Africa and Asia, middle of the pack in Australia, Costa Rica, and the United Kingdom, and below average in parts of Europe such as Czechia, Finland, and Norway.



To better understand why some disasters sway opinion more than others, the team examined the “management potential” of each event type.



Heatwaves and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/are-bomb-cyclones-increasing-due-to-climate-change/">cyclones</a>, they argue, lend themselves to engineering solutions - irrigation or seawalls - so citizens may associate them more closely with concrete policy interventions.



“One possible explanation is that these types of extreme weather events allow for management strategies that can directly reduce the hazard itself,” the scientists noted, listing measures like “flood protections, irrigation systems, prescribed burn-offs, and land-use policies.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-perception-shapes-climate-response">Perception shapes climate response</h2>



Another key takeaway: simply living through a disaster does not automatically translate into greener voting habits. For most hazard categories, raw exposure showed little correlation with climate policy support unless people also perceived a climate link.



The authors pointed out that attribution varies dramatically around the world. In South America - particularly Brazil and Colombia - people overwhelmingly agree that storms and heatwaves are climate-driven. 



Northern Europe and much of Africa report lower attribution levels, mirroring polls that find limited awareness of anthropogenic climate change in those regions.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-disasters-demand-climate-framing">Disasters demand climate framing</h2>



The paper suggests that effective climate messaging should draw explicit connections between local disasters and broader warming trends, especially in places where that mental bridge is weak. 



At the same time, communication campaigns must navigate skepticism toward carbon pricing by highlighting co-benefits of renewables or ecosystem protection.



The authors caution that their results do not prove causation in a strict sense, but the statistical associations are robust across thousands of survey responses and multiple modeling approaches.



They call for follow-up studies focused on how to communicate about lesser-known hazards. These include prolonged droughts and slow-onset sea level rise, which citizens may not instinctively link to climate change.



Finally, the experts stress that policy design must account for demographic and cultural nuances. For officials drafting climate plans after a devastating storm, the lesson is clear. 



The public’s willingness to pay for mitigation will hinge not only on their lived experience but also on whether they see that storm as another symptom of a warming planet.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-025-02372-4">Nature Climate Change</a>.



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Connecting disasters to climate change drives public action

A global team of researchers has delivered new evidence that...

Young trees in large forests are often dismissed as bit players in the fight against climate change, but new evidence shows their importance is anything but small. 



The latest study of <a href="https://www.fao.org/4/j0628e/J0628E16.htm" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">secondary forest regrowth</a> found that young trees, only a few decades old, can lock away carbon faster than almost any other land based solution.



Researchers mapped carbon removal in regrowing woodlands worldwide and discovered a sweet spot between 20 and 40 years where <a href="https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/what-carbon-sequestration" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">carbon sequestration</a> peaks, reaching up to eight times the rate recorded in newly sprouting forest patches.



The <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-025-02355-5" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">work</a> was led by ecologist <a href="https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/staff/profiles/gees/muelbert-adriane-esquivel" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Adriane Esquivel-Muelbert</a> at the <a href="https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Birmingham</a>, whose team says protecting these adolescent forests could keep billions of tons of CO2 out of the atmosphere.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-young-forests-trap-more-carbon">Young forests trap more carbon</h2>



“Our research underscores the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/forest-fire-smoke-boosts-ocean-life-but-with-a-hidden-cost/">critical role</a> of young secondary forests in the global fight against climate change,” said Esquivel-Muelbert. 



Overlooking their protection could forfeit the opportunity to capture carbon more quickly and at a larger scale when it's needed most.



The emphasis on youth contrasts with <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/forests-are-lagging-centuries-behind-in-climate-adaptation/">reforestation</a> drives that prioritize planting, then wait decades for stored carbon to accrue. 



Keeping a 25 year old stand standing can deliver as much carbon benefit as planting several acres of new trees because its engines are already running at full speed.



A global <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2686-x" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">synthesis</a> published in 2020 showed that natural forest regrowth could capture 226 gigatons of carbon over the century.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-maps-reveal-fastest-carbon-gains">Maps reveal fastest carbon gains</h2>



The new paper applies a random forest model, crunching 109,708 field plots and 66 environmental layers to generate one kilometer growth curves for stands up to 100 years old. 



That computational lift produced the first fine scale map of how fast <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/virtual-forest-bathing-can-reduce-stress-and-improve-mood/">above-ground biomass</a> piles up decade by decade.



Across 800 million hectares of land identified as restorable, starting regeneration in 2025 could remove 20.3 billion metric tons of carbon by 2050. 



Delay the start to 2035 and the budget shrinks by almost half, underscoring the cost of procrastination.



Machine learning also revealed how growth spurts shift with latitude, offering a tool planners can use to rank projects by speed of return. Such spatial precision was impossible a decade ago.



Earlier satellite <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36922608/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">work</a> led by Viola Heinrich showed recovering humid tropical forests store an average 3.6 billion tons of carbon but only if they survive interruptions from fire or fresh clearing.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-young-forests-left-out-of-climate-plans">Young forests left out of climate plans</h2>



The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (<a href="https://www.wri.org/insights/2023-ipcc-ar6-synthesis-report-climate-change-findings" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">IPCC</a>) warns that deep emissions cuts alone will not limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre industrial levels, making carbon removal essential. 



Yet current market rules rarely pay for preserving forests younger than 20 years, creating a blind spot that could derail mitigation efforts.



Co‑author <a href="https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/staff/profiles/gees/pugh-thomas" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Tom Pugh</a>, from the School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, at the University of Birmingham, notes that young stands “aren’t even on the books” for many offset schemes, despite their outsized impact. 



Fixing that oversight, the team argues, would steer finance toward projects that begin sequestering carbon within a single election cycle instead of a generation.



A persistent global forest sink of roughly <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1201609" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">2.4 petagrams</a> of carbon per year from 1990 to 2007 already helps offset emissions, but analysts say ramping up the sink during the decisive 2020s could keep warming targets within reach.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-location-changes-forest-carbon-speed">Location changes forest carbon speed</h2>



<a href="https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/resource-library-biomes/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Biome</a> type influences when forests hit their peak carbon removal rates. In <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/biome/biorainforest.php" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">warm tropical zones</a>, forests often reach their highest rates in their early 20s, while <a href="https://www.oneearth.org/ecoregions/mediterranean-woodlands-and-forests/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Mediterranean woodlands</a> may not hit that point until they're closer to 50 years old.



Even so, the per hectare advantage of youth appears everywhere. In the Amazon, a forest that is eight years old today would draw 36 percent more carbon by 2030 than a clear cut plot replanted next year.



Similar arithmetic holds in <a href="http://costarica-information.com/nature/ecosystems-of-costa-rica/Lowland%20Rainforest" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Costa Rica’s wet lowlands</a>, where a 20 year old stand can outperform seedlings by 65 percent over the same window. That universality makes age tracking as important as area.



Journalist <a href="https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/policymakers-often-ignore-forest-regeneration-fight-against-climate-change-2025-06-24/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">data</a> show that fewer than six percent of young forests in the tropics survive long enough to reach their twentieth birthday, often sacrificed to repeat agricultural cycles or burned in accidental fires.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-saving-trees-saves-money">Saving trees saves money</h2>



Carbon credits linked to young forest protection could offer investors quicker returns than tree planting programs because monitoring tools can confirm <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/protecting-forests-helps-birds-and-humans-in-many-ways/">biomass gains</a> within a few years. That speed matters to companies racing toward net zero pledges set for 2030.



Maintaining existing young stands is also cheaper for governments. Studies suggest natural regeneration costs a fraction of active planting while delivering side benefits such as better soil structure and wildlife habitat.



A fresh economic <a href="https://www.nature.org/content/dam/tnc/nature/en/documents/N4C_NaturePositiveRecoveryReport_063020.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">analysis</a> estimated that every dollar spent on safeguarding regrowth can yield climate returns three to four times higher than planting efforts in the same region.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-global-talks-may-boost-forests">Global talks may boost forests</h2>



The study lands months before negotiators gather in Belém, Brazil, for <a href="https://cop30.br/en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">COP30</a>. The hosts sit amid the world’s largest tropical forest and also the fastest disappearing, giving added weight to calls for immediate safeguards on regrowth.



“We urge policymakers to prioritize the protection and regeneration of young secondary forests,” said Esquivel‑Muelbert. She wants treaty language that treats young forests as a strategic reserve, not a placeholder. 



Brazilian officials have hinted that regrowth credits could join the country’s voluntary carbon market, a signal observers hope will ripple across the Amazon Basin. If other nations follow, the carbon math suggests the path to net zero could get a much needed boost.



The study is published in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-025-02355-5" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature Climate Change</a>.



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Young forests, big climate punch: Why 20-year‑old trees matter most

Young trees in large forests are often dismissed as bit...

For decades, researchers have questioned whether boys and girls are born with the same natural ability in math. In 2005, cognitive psychologist Elizabeth Spelke took a firm stand, stating that there are no differences in overall intrinsic aptitude for science and mathematics among women and men.



Now, the evidence is even stronger. In a new study, researchers from <a href="https://www.harvard.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Harvard University</a> and several institutions across France examined math performance in more than 2.5 million French schoolchildren. 



The team found that at the very beginning of first grade, boys and girls start off nearly equal in math. But just four months into formal math instruction, a small gap appears - and it keeps growing.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-nationwide-study-tracks-the-math-gap">Nationwide study tracks the math gap</h2>



The research draws on a French government testing program that was launched in 2018. This nationwide effort tracked <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/reminiscing-can-boost-language-development-in-preschoolers/">language</a> and math skills of young students from first through sixth grade. 



Over five years and across four student cohorts, the program gave researchers an unmatched view of early math development.



At school entry, French girls scored slightly better than boys in language. Math scores, though, were essentially the same. 



"The headline conclusion is that the gender gap emerges when systematic instruction in mathematics begins," Spelke explained.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-looking-for-gender-differences">Looking for gender differences </h2>



Spelke had already spent decades studying how young children understand numbers and shapes. Back in 2005, she wrote a major review for American Psychologist. The piece challenged the notion that boys are biologically wired for better math performance than girls.



"My argument was, 'OK, if there really were biological differences, maybe we would see them in the infancy period,'" said Spelke. 



She and her team always tracked <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/young-children-learn-gender-stereotypes-from-storybooks/">gender</a> in their studies, but they never found infant boys outperforming girls in math, or vice versa. Still, Spelke admitted that something could be happening later in development.



"The fact that there are no differences in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/conscious-awareness-when-does-our-sense-of-purpose-emerge/">infants</a> could be because the abilities that show gender effects actually emerge during preschool," she proposed.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-math-instruction-for-boys-and-girls">Math instruction for boys and girls</h2>



In recent years, Spelke has turned her attention to how <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-discover-a-better-way-for-kids-to-learn-math/">children learn counting</a> and numbers in real classrooms. 



Spelke partnered with Nobel Prize-winning MIT economist Esther Duflo to advise the Delhi office of the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL). The team is helping four Indian states create and test math lessons for children in preschool through first grade.



In France, she works alongside her longtime collaborator, neuroscientist Stanislas Dehaene. Together, they serve on the French Ministry of Education's Scientific Council, which helped develop the EvalAide testing program. 



The idea was simple: measure where every child stands in math and language and use that data to guide better teaching.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-gender-gap-emerges-in-math">Gender gap emerges in math</h2>



For this study, the team analyzed data from four full cohorts of first-graders entering school between 2018 and 2021. 



What they found was consistent: no math gap at the time of school entry, a small but significant gap favoring boys after four months, and a steadily widening gap by second, fourth, and even sixth grade.



"It was even bigger in fourth grade," Spelke said. "And in sixth grade it was bigger still."



Interestingly, the gender gap in language shrank slightly after the first few months of school and stayed relatively stable in later years.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ruling-out-old-explanations">Ruling out old explanations</h2>



So why does the math gap grow with time in school? The researchers ruled out several familiar theories.



"If there was really a pervasive social bias, and the parents were susceptible to it, we would expect boys to be more oriented toward spatial and numerical tasks when they first got to school," said Spelke.



But that didn’t happen. At school entry, there was no math gap. This points away from both biological and early social bias explanations.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-an-experiment-during-the-pandemic">An experiment during the pandemic </h2>



The EvalAide dataset offered other insights. French first-graders can be nearly a year apart in age, depending on when their birthday falls. 



The team wondered if the older students were skewing results. They weren’t. The widening gender gap aligned more closely with time spent in school than with age.



Then came an unusual variable: COVID-19. The 2019 cohort missed the final 2.5 months of first grade due to lockdowns. That gap year created a natural experiment.



"With less time in school, the amount of the gender gap grew by less than it did in the other years where there wasn't a long school closure," said Spelke.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-confirming-the-math-gender-gap">Confirming the math gender gap</h2>



The cohort also began school just after a national education crisis. In early 2019, French students had scored <a href="https://www.polytechnique-insights.com/en/braincamps/society/how-to-improve-the-relationship-between-education-and-employment/maths-an-essential-subject-whose-level-is-falling-in-a-majority-of-countries/#:~:text=In%202003%2C%2015%25%20of%20French,European%20average%20of%20527%20points.">lowest</a> among 23 European countries in math, according to international rankings. 



In response, the French Education Ministry - guided by its Scientific Council - called for more math teaching in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/covid-19-pandemic-setbacks-reduced-kindergarten-readiness/">kindergarten</a>.



Sure enough, a tiny math gender gap appeared in fall 2019 among new first-graders. That gap hadn’t shown up in 2018 but was still present in 2020 and 2021.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-problems-in-early-math-instruction">Problems in early math instruction </h2>



The study doesn't pinpoint a single cause, but its message is clear: differences in math achievement between boys and girls seem to grow as a result of what happens in early <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/schools-are-in-a-battle-with-cell-phones-to-keep-students-engaged/">school</a> instruction.



"We still don't know what that is exactly," Spelke said. "But now we have a chance to find out by randomized evaluations of changes to the curriculum."



The findings put pressure on education systems to ask hard questions about how math is taught in the early years - and what needs to change to make it fair for everyone.



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09126-4">Nature</a>.



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Early math instruction may unintentionally favor boys

For decades, researchers have questioned whether boys and girls are...

Bees have long been admired for their delicate beauty and essential role in pollination. These small creatures, however, face growing challenges from their environment. 



Rising temperatures and pollution continue to reshape bee behavior in unexpected ways. Recent research is unveiling surprising links between environmental changes and the subtle buzzes bees produce.



These quiet vibrations are more than just background noise. They hold deep meaning for the survival of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/world-bee-day-2025-protecting-the-pollinators-that-feed-the-world/">bees</a> and the ecosystems they support. As environmental pressures increase, understanding these sounds becomes even more important. 



Researchers are now focusing on how changes in temperature and exposure to heavy metals affect these essential vibrations. The findings offer insight into the hidden world of bee communication and pollination.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-hidden-power-of-bee-muscles">Hidden power of bee muscles</h2>



Bees are renowned for their efficient flight. Their wings beat rapidly, allowing them to hover and move gracefully between flowers. However, not many know that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/honey-bee-invasion-a-growing-threat-to-native-pollinators/">bees</a> also use their flight muscles for other important tasks.



“People have been long interested in how insect flight muscles work, as these muscles power the most efficient flight systems in nature,” said Dr. Charlie Woodrow, a post-doctoral researcher at <a href="https://www.uu.se/en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Uppsala University</a>. “However, many do not know that bees use these muscles for functions other than flight.”



These non-flight muscle vibrations help in several key behaviors. Bees use them for communication within the hive, to ward off threats, and during a special kind of pollination known as buzz pollination.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-bees-buzz-flowers-to-collect-pollen">Bees buzz flowers to collect pollen</h2>



Buzz pollination stands out as one of the most fascinating <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-bumble-bees-are-sabotaging-their-own-health/">behaviors</a> in the insect world. It is a process where bees vibrate their bodies to dislodge pollen from certain types of flowers.



“Buzz pollination is an incredible behavior whereby a bee will curl its body around the pollen-concealing anthers of some flowers, and contract the flight muscles up to 400 times per second to produce vibrations which shake the pollen loose,” said Dr. Woodrow.



This act requires great energy and precision. The buzzing shakes the flower at exactly the right frequency, releasing the trapped pollen. 



Dr. Woodrow and his team aim to understand how these vibrations vary between species and environmental conditions. They hope to uncover how these differences affect pollination success and bee behavior.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tools-to-study-bee-buzzing">Tools to study bee buzzing</h2>



To explore these mysteries, Dr. Woodrow’s team turned to advanced technology. They studied buff-tailed bumblebees (Bombus terrestris), a common species found across Europe. These bees are ideal subjects because they are well-researched and easily handled.



Using accelerometers, the researchers measured the frequency of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/organic-farms-and-meadows-can-help-save-wild-bees/">buzzing</a>. This frequency corresponds to the pitch of the sound we can hear.



“They are super easy to use in the field,” said Dr. Woodrow. “We press these against the thorax of the bee, or against the flower the bee is visiting, and we can record the vibrations the bee produces.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-bees-handle-buzzing-heat">How bees handle buzzing heat</h2>



Beyond vibration measurements, the team also used thermal imaging to understand how bees manage heat during buzzing. This approach allowed them to observe how bees balance their body temperature while performing demanding tasks.



“We have also been using high-speed filming to uncover never before seen behaviors,” said Dr. Woodrow. “For example, we recently discovered that bees don’t just vibrate on flowers, but they periodically transmit these vibrations to flowers by biting.”



These unexpected discoveries reveal how much remains hidden in the world of bees. They also highlight the importance of studying these creatures in detail, especially as the climate warms.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-hidden-role-of-temperature">Hidden role of temperature</h2>



One of the most surprising findings from Dr. Woodrow’s research involves temperature. His experiments showed that temperature has a much stronger impact on buzzing than scientists had previously realised.



“We have recently found that temperature plays a vital role, much more than was previously appreciated, and this work is currently in review for publication,” said Dr. Woodrow. 



“This has many implications for how we study buzz-pollination, as temperature is not really something that has been considered up to this point.”



This insight could reshape how pollination research is conducted in the future, as temperature clearly affects buzzing behavior.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-pollution-changes-bee-buzzing">Pollution changes bee buzzing</h2>



In addition to temperature, pollution also affects bee vibrations. Dr. Woodrow teamed up with Dr. Sarah Scott from <a href="https://www.ncl.ac.uk" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Newcastle University</a> to investigate how heavy metals influence buzzing.



The experiments showed that heavy metal exposure reduces buzzing frequency during non-flight activities. 



Surprisingly, when the researchers tested bees in Arctic regions compared to those further south, they found no difference in the temperature’s effects on buzzing.



This suggests that internal muscle physiology may govern buzzing traits more than local adaptation does.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-new-way-to-monitor-bee-health">A new way to monitor bee health</h2>



The research offers exciting possibilities beyond academic study. Understanding how environmental changes alter buzzing can reveal much about bee health and behavior. This knowledge can also improve technology designed to detect bee species using sound.



“Perhaps buzzes could even be used as a marker of stress or environmental change,” said Dr. Woodrow. “For example, we now know that certain environmental pollutants can affect the buzzes bees produce, so they could even serve as an indicator of ecosystem health.”



Monitoring bee buzzes could help identify species at risk and provide early warnings about environmental threats.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-buzzing-changes-may-harm-bees">Buzzing changes may harm bees</h2>



The potential risks from disrupted buzzing extend beyond bees. Dr. Woodrow points out that changes in buzzing could damage several aspects of bee life.



“It is important we understand how these changes will affect non-flight buzzes because they are responsible for so many aspects of a bee’s ecology,” said Dr. Woodrow. 



“If these vibrations are disrupted, this could lead to poor communication in the colony, inefficient thermoregulation, or poor resource acquisition for their offspring.”



This disruption could limit pollination, affecting plant reproduction and biodiversity.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-rising-heat-may-shift-bee-behavior">Rising heat may shift bee behavior</h2>



One particularly worrying result relates to the combination of high temperatures and energy costs.



“For example, buzz-pollination is energetically expensive and causes the bee to generate metabolic heat - therefore if the environment gets too warm, it may simply choose to avoid buzz-pollinated flowers,” noted Dr. Woodrow.



This behavioral change could weaken entire ecosystems, as many plants rely on bees for pollination. If bees avoid these plants, pollination rates could drop sharply.



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



While these findings raise concerns, they also point toward future innovation. Dr. Woodrow’s team is working on applying their research to robotics.



“We are working towards understanding bee vibrations through micro-robotics, so our results are also going towards developing micro-robots to understand pollen release,” said Dr. Woodrow.



This cross-disciplinary work may someday help protect pollination services by mimicking bee buzzing with machines.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-urgent-need-to-protect-pollinators">Urgent need to protect pollinators</h2>



These discoveries will be shared at the <a href="https://www.sebiology.org" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Society for Experimental Biology Annual Conference</a> in Antwerp, Belgium, on July 8, 2025. 



The findings show that bees face increasing challenges from environmental shifts, but they also present new tools to help understand and protect them.



As temperatures climb and pollutants spread, paying attention to the quiet buzz of bees could become more important than ever. Their tiny vibrations may hold the key to preserving plant life, biodiversity, and our shared future.



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Heat and pollution are changing the buzz of bees

Bees have long been admired for their delicate beauty and...

Everyone knows exercise is good. It keeps hearts healthy, muscles strong, and minds calm. But what if it could also help fight cancer?



Scientists at the <a href="https://www.pitt.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Pittsburgh</a> found something surprising. Exercise doesn’t just benefit the body. It also changes tiny microbes living inside us. These changes can make cancer treatments work better.



The study connects three things: <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/exercise-in-a-pill-is-now-closer-to-reality/">exercise</a>, the gut microbiome, and cancer treatment success. For years, researchers knew exercise helped cancer therapies. They also knew exercise altered gut bacteria. But no one connected those dots before.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-exercise-changes-gut-to-fight-cancer">Exercise changes gut to fight cancer</h2>



“We already knew that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/to-get-fit-and-stay-healthy-walk-this-exact-distance-every-day/">exercise</a> increases the effectiveness of cancer immunotherapies, and we separately knew that exercise changes the microbiome in mice and humans,” said Dr. Marlies Meisel, senior author of the research paper.



“This study connects those dots by showing how exercise-induced changes in the gut microbiome boost the immune system and enhance immunotherapy efficiency via formate. These findings open the door to new therapeutic strategies targeting the microbiome.”



In simpler terms, exercise reshapes the gut in ways that make cancer drugs work better. The team started by comparing two groups of mice. One group got plenty of exercise for four weeks, while the other group did not move much at all.



When cancer cells were introduced, the differences from <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/studies-learn-the-exact-amount-of-time-you-should-spend-training-to-build-muscle/">exercise</a> became clear. The exercise group had smaller cancer tumors. They also lived longer.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-gut-microbes-drive-cancer-protection">Gut microbes drive cancer protection</h2>



In a surprising twist, when the researchers wiped out the mice’s gut bacteria using antibiotics, exercise no longer helped.



“When we removed microbes from the equation, exercise no longer had any effect on <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/early-sleep-times-linked-to-enhanced-activity-during-the-day/">cancer</a> outcomes in mice,” said Catherine Phelps, lead author of the study.



“We were surprised to see such a clear signal that the beneficial effects of exercise were due to the microbiome.”



That discovery flipped everything upside down. It wasn’t just exercise itself. It was the gut bacteria that responded to exercise and made the difference.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-gut-compound-linked-to-exercise">Gut compound linked to exercise </h2>



Next, the team looked deeper. What was it about those bacteria that helped? It wasn’t the bacteria alone. It was their chemical products.



The scientists used a machine learning tool called SLIDE to hunt for answers. SLIDE identified a surprising hero. That hero was formate.



This simple molecule, made by gut microbes, changed everything. Formate supercharged immune cells known as CD8 T cells. These are the body’s main cancer fighters.



When mice were given formate directly, their tumors shrank. They also survived longer. And when researchers paired formate with cancer immunotherapy, results improved even more.



“It’s really exciting to identify a specific bacterial metabolite that mimicked the effects of exercise in mice,” said Meisel.



“In the future, formate could potentially be investigated as an adjuvant therapy to improve the efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors in non-responders.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-research-on-cancer-and-exercise">Research on cancer and exercise </h2>



Mouse studies on exercise and cancer were exciting, but humans matter more. So, the researchers studied cancer patients with advanced melanoma. 



The researchers checked the patients’ blood for formate. Those with more formate had better cancer treatment results.



Then came another clever test. The team collected stool samples from these patients. The samples went to mice with melanoma.



Some mice received stool from patients with high formate levels. Others got stool from patients with low formate.



The cancer outcome was clear. Mice that received high-formate samples from exercise-linked donors fought cancer better. Their immune systems kicked into gear.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-some-gut-microbes-work-better">Some gut microbes work better</h2>



Fecal microbial transplants, or FMT, are already being studied to help cancer treatments. But nobody fully understands why some donor samples work better than others.



“We want to describe metabolic biomarkers to identify FMT super donors because that’s really a black box,” said Meisel.



“Currently everyone focuses on bacterial species, but our research suggests that it’s not just about which microbes are present, but what they are doing and which metabolites they are producing.”



That’s a big shift in thinking. Instead of worrying about which bacteria live in the gut, it may be smarter to focus on what chemicals those bacteria make.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-new-ways-exercise-may-help-fight-cancer">New ways exercise may help fight cancer</h2>



This research opens many new doors. Meisel and her team now wonder if exercise-triggered gut changes can help with other diseases too. 



The researchers are especially curious about autoimmune disorders. They also want to know how exercise actually transforms the gut microbiome in the first place.



One thing is certain. Exercise is more powerful than it seems in cancer care. It doesn't just move muscles or burn calories. It also changes gut chemistry, which may someday improve cancer treatments.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/cell/abstract/S0092-8674(25)00684-1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Cell</a>.



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Exercise helps fight cancer by changing gut microbes

Everyone knows exercise is good. It keeps hearts healthy, muscles...

In South Florida, the sea level has been edging upward by roughly 2.4 to 3.7 millimeters a year, reshaping shorelines and pushing salt water farther inland. 



A new <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301479725018183" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">analysis</a> of Everglades wetlands shows that this slow creep of salt can boost total carbon storage, if managers leave space for migrating mangroves, while other plant communities stumble.



Sparkle Malone of the Yale School of the Environment and Amanda Richey from <a href="https://www.flbog.edu/university/florida-international-university/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Florida International University</a> led the field team that measured carbon flows across three <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/forests-are-lagging-centuries-behind-in-climate-adaptation/">habitat</a> types in 2021.



Rising oceans create what ecologists call <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms12643" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">climate debt</a>, the lag between an ecosystem’s present state and the state best suited to new conditions. 



When that debt grows unchecked, coastal <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/forest-fire-smoke-boosts-ocean-life-but-with-a-hidden-cost/">wetlands</a> can drown, a scenario that could claim up to 78 percent of the world’s tidal marshes by 2,100 under high‑sea‑rise <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921818115301879" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">projections</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-mangroves-excel-at-carbon-capture">Mangroves excel at carbon capture</h2>



On Everglades transects, the team tracked the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/net-ecosystem-exchange" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">net ecosystem exchange</a> of carbon dioxide, a direct measure of whether a landscape breathes in or exhales CO₂. 



The researchers found that compact “scrub” mangroves, dominated by <a href="https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/FP502" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Rhizophora mangle</a>, kept absorbing about 294 grams of carbon per square meter each year even when water levels covered a quarter of their stems, outperforming sawgrass prairies more than six‑fold.



“We expect that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/virtual-forest-bathing-can-reduce-stress-and-improve-mood/">mangroves</a> will need to continue moving further inland. If this occurs, it could enhance carbon capture in those new locations,” said Malone. 



The team's models suggest that as <a href="https://esa.org/esablog/about/ecotone-explained/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ecotone zones</a> creep inland at roughly 25 yards each year the net carbon uptake of the southeastern Everglades could climb another 12 percent, adding about 131 metric tons annually.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-freshwater-plants-struggle-in-floods">Freshwater plants struggle in floods</h2>



<a href="https://www.nps.gov/ever/learn/nature/marlprairie.htm" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Freshwater marl prairie grasses</a> thrive when their leaves stay dry for part of the year. Once water sits above the soil for weeks, photosynthesis drops by a third and the prairie’s climate debt balloons, signaling low resilience to longer floods.



Ecotone mixtures of sawgrass and mangrove seedlings fall in the middle: tolerant of brief floods yet still losing ground when tides linger. 



Because the ecotone acts as a moving front, its health now sets the timetable for wholesale habitat turnover across the landscape.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-moving-mangroves-to-boost-carbon-storage">Moving mangroves to boost carbon storage</h2>



<a href="https://www.cifor-icraf.org/knowledge/publication/3401/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Mangroves</a> lock away carbon three to five times more densely than most tropical upland forests thanks to deep, anoxic sediments that slow decay. 



Allowing mangroves to colonize higher ground provides room for trunks and roots to pile up sediment, a natural levee that can keep pace with moderate sea‑level rise.



Blocking this migration with roads or seawalls traps the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/protecting-forests-helps-birds-and-humans-in-many-ways/">forest</a> against the tide, turning a productive carbon sink into open water. 



Managers who once fought encroaching salt now face the opposite task: clearing pathways for salt‑tolerant species to race inland ahead of the water.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-steps-to-protect-mangroves">Steps to protect mangroves </h2>



First, map low‑lying barriers that could choke future mangrove expansion, from old spoil berms to abandoned canals. 



Second, adjust freshwater releases so that salinity gradients shift gradually; sudden pulses of salt can kill sawgrass before mangroves take hold, leaving bare mud.



Third, prioritize restoration projects that connect patches of existing mangrove to potential refuge sites upslope, reducing fragment stress and fostering seed dispersal. 



Finally, track <a href="https://stanfordhealthcare.org/medical-conditions/ear-nose-and-throat/disequilibrium-of-aging.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">disequilibrium</a> indicators such as <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2021.787877/full" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">leaf‑level photosynthesis</a> and soil elevation change so that intervention happens before large carbon debts accrue.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-balancing-carbon-capture-and-biodiversity">Balancing carbon capture and biodiversity</h2>



Although scrub mangroves are efficient carbon sinks, they support a narrower range of species compared to freshwater prairies. 



As salinity increases, native amphibians, fish, and wading birds adapted to low-salt environments may be pushed out or face population declines.



Land managers will need to weigh these biodiversity losses against the climate benefits of carbon storage. 



In some zones, maintaining a mosaic of habitats might offer the best of both worlds: storing more carbon while protecting ecological diversity.



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



The Everglades aren’t the only place where mangroves are pushing inland. Similar shifts are being observed in the Mississippi Delta, Australia’s Northern Territory, and parts of Southeast Asia where sea level rise, salt intrusion, and human disturbances are reshaping wetland boundaries.



Each site has different constraints, tidal range, land use, and species pools, but the patterns of mangroves shifting and carbon storage changes echo those seen in South Florida. 



This study offers a practical way to assess when to defend current habitats and when to help mangroves move inland for carbon benefits.



The study is published in the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301479725018183?via%3Dihub" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Journal of Environmental Management</a>.



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How mangroves could store more carbon as oceans rise

In South Florida, the sea level has been edging upward...

Koalas are everywhere on postcards and souvenirs. People think of them as calm animals sleeping in trees. But life isn’t simple for koalas anymore.



Their numbers keep dropping across Australia. Habitat loss, disease, and land clearing cause serious damage. Many forests are now small patches surrounded by roads and buildings.



Most people don’t realize how risky it is for <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/koalas-face-critical-threats-from-disease-and-habitat-loss/">koalas</a> when they leave trees. New research now shows something alarming. Koalas spend only about ten minutes a day on the ground, but those short minutes cause almost two-thirds of all recorded koala deaths.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-koalas-risk-lives-when-leaving-trees">Koalas risk lives when leaving trees</h2>



Gabriella Sparkes, a PhD student at the <a href="https://www.uq.edu.au" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Queensland</a>, wanted to gain a better understanding of koala behavior.



“Koalas are mostly tree-dwelling, but due to extensive land clearing, they’re increasingly forced to travel on the ground, which puts them at serious risk of injury and death,” said Sparkes. “I wanted to better understand what koalas do during these ground movements.”



Vehicles and dogs kill most <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/koalas-can-predict-hot-days-and-adjust-their-body-temperature/">koalas</a> while they walk on the ground. Even though this danger is known, many details about their movements remained unknown.



“We don’t yet have a clear understanding of how often koalas come down from trees, how far or fast they move, how long they stay on the ground, or what influences those decisions,” noted Sparkes. 



“These are critical knowledge gaps if we want to identify high-risk areas or times and develop strategies to reduce threats during these vulnerable moments.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tracking-koalas-in-their-habitats">Tracking koalas in their habitats</h2>



Sparkes and her team used special collars on <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/world-wildlife-day-2025-a-global-call-to-protect-nature/">wild</a> koalas. These collars had GPS trackers and sensors called accelerometers.



The GPS recorded their locations every five minutes. When koalas started walking on the ground, the system switched to record every five seconds. 



The sensors measured their movements in detail. They showed if a koala was walking, sitting, or climbing.



“When paired with GPS tracks, this gives us an incredibly detailed view of how koalas move through their habitat,” said Sparkes.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-koalas-prefer-staying-in-trees">Koalas prefer staying in trees </h2>



The results were clear. Koalas prefer staying in trees. They sleep, eat, and rest there most of the time. The researchers were surprised by how rarely koalas use the ground.



“What surprised us was how infrequently and briefly they use the ground—just 2-3 times per night, averaging around 10 minutes in total, or less than 1% of their day,” says Ms. Sparkes.



Koalas only climb down when they need to move between trees. But when trees are far apart, ground travel becomes unavoidable.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-koalas-move-slowly-between-trees">Koalas move slowly between trees</h2>



People often think <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/un-report-disturbing-details-about-the-state-of-earths-wildlife/">animals</a> move quickly when they’re in danger. But this research showed that koalas don’t rush. They move slowly and pause often. They spend almost as much time sitting as they do walking.



“They spent nearly as much time sitting and pausing as they did walking, and only about 7% of their time on the ground was spent bounding,” said Sparkes. 



“This may indicate that koalas are carefully assessing their environment as they move, possibly evaluating trees before selecting one to climb, or it may reflect the energetic costs of bounding.”



Koalas may need to check for safety before climbing a tree. They might also avoid fast movements to save energy.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ways-to-keep-koalas-safe">Ways to keep koalas safe</h2>



This study, which was the first to track fine details of ground movement in wild koalas, has revealed clear risks and raised more questions. Sparkes and her team now study what makes koalas stay longer in trees.



“We’re now looking at environmental features that influence how long koalas stay in trees,” said Sparkes. 



“If we can identify the kinds of trees or habitat conditions that encourage koalas to remain in trees for longer, we may be able to design or manage landscapes in ways that reduce the need for ground travel.”



The goal is to find trees that keep koalas off the ground. The researchers also wanted to see if certain habitats lower the need for risky movements.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-small-changes-can-help-koalas-survive">Small changes can help koalas survive</h2>



The team hopes their research can guide better conservation work. They suggest keeping tree canopies connected and reducing the space between trees.



Simple actions like planting the right trees may help. Koalas need safer, connected habitats to avoid ground travel.



“This research is just one piece of the puzzle, but it adds an important layer to our understanding of how koalas interact with increasingly human-altered environments,” said Sparkes.



The findings will be presented at the <a href="https://www.sebiology.org/">Society for Experimental Biology</a> Annual Conference in Antwerp, Belgium, in July.



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Most koalas don’t survive after leaving the safety of trees

Koalas are everywhere on postcards and souvenirs. People think of...

When a ripe fruit of the Mediterranean squirting cucumber (Ecballium elaterium) finally bursts, the show is over in a blink - unless you film it at 10,000 frames per second. 



A new study from the <a href="https://www.sgorb.zoologie.uni-kiel.de/">Department of Functional Morphology and Biomechanics at Kiel University</a>, Germany, used precisely that technology along with high-resolution X-ray micro-tomography.



The research reveals how the plant primes itself for one of the most spectacular examples of self-propelled <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/one-third-of-europes-plants-at-risk-due-to-decline-in-seed-dispersers/">seed dispersal</a> in the plant kingdom.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-the-squirting-cucumber-explodes">Why the squirting cucumber explodes</h2>



Plants that deposit seeds right beneath a parent’s canopy face stiff competition for light, water, and nutrients. Evolution favors <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-the-squirting-cucumber-squirts-and-the-trigger-that-makes-it-happen/">strategies</a> that spread offspring widely - by wind, animals, or, in rare cases, by brute force.



The squirting cucumber belongs to that small third category. Once its water-rich fruit has matured, internal pressure builds up. It then suddenly ejects a viscous jet containing up to 30 seeds, launching them away at startling speed.



“Many factors have to interact perfectly to disperse the seeds in the most efficient way, while not destroying the whole plant too early,” said project leader Helen Gorges, a PhD student at Kiel. 



Untangling those factors was the goal of the research she presented this week at the <a href="https://www.sebiology.org/events/seb-annual-conference-antwerp-2025.html">Society for Experimental Biology annual meeting</a> in Antwerp, Belgium.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cucumber-ripening-mapped-in-3d">Cucumber ripening mapped in 3D</h2>



The Kiel team began by scanning intact fruits with micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) to build three-dimensional models of the internal anatomy. 



Progressive scans taken during ripening charted how the tissues transformed from a firm, green cylinder into a biological pressure vessel poised to rupture.



Complementary micro-CT imaging of exploded fruit captured the aftermath in equally fine detail. This allowed the researchers to calculate how tissues deformed and ruptured in the millisecond before detonation.



Parallel high-speed videography supplied the missing frames. “We recorded the explosion of the fruit with high-speed videos at 1,000 fps and 10,000 fps to calculate the speed of the seeds and the possible shooting distances,” Gorges said.



Those recordings showed individual cucumber seeds rocketing out of the ruptured end at up to 29 miles per hour (about 13 m/s) before <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/unraveling-gravity-quantum-nature-entanglement-mechanics/">gravity</a> began to tug them earthward.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-fruit-aims-before-exploding">Fruit aims before exploding</h2>



Classical ballistics dictates that, for any projectile launched from ground level, an angle of 45° maximizes horizontal distance - assuming no air resistance. 



Because seeds leave a height above ground and endure aerodynamic drag, the optimum tilt is a little steeper.



Field measurements revealed over the final days of ripening, the fruit’s short stalk gradually straightened until the fruit nodded at 53° relative to horizontal. 



This angle is almost exactly the theoretical optimum of 50°, calculated for Ecballium’s seed mass and exit velocity.



“We also analyzed pictures during the ripening of the fruits to measure the curvature of the fruit stem and the angle between fruit and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-plant-stem-cells-could-support-human-growth/">stem</a>,” Gorges noted.



This revealed that the plant actively remodels its pedicel tissues so that when the moment comes, it fires each capsule along a near-perfect ballistic trajectory.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cucumber-seeds-exit-with-precision">Cucumber seeds exit with precision</h2>



High-speed footage further showed that the seeds of the squirting cucumber depart in an orderly orientation, always exiting point-first from the fruit’s basal end. That consistency may reduce drag and help minimize collisions among seeds in the gushing stream.



Once they land, another adaptation takes over: the seed coat produces a mucilaginous hydrogel that becomes glue-like as it dries.



The sticky coating helps seeds adhere to soil particles, reducing the chance they will be washed away. It may also improve local moisture retention - both advantages for germination in the cucumber’s typically arid habitat.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-fruit-as-a-pressure-bomb">Fruit as a pressure bomb</h2>



Internal pressure estimates derived from micro-CT density measurements confirm that the fruit behaves like a hydraulic accumulator. 



Water drawn from the parent plant inflates internal cavities while secondary cell-wall thickening stiffens the outer rind.



When tension surpasses tissue strength, the weakest seam near the stalk splits like a pre-scored rupture disk. The accumulated pressure then drives the surrounding gel and embedded cucumber seeds through the opening in a fraction of a second.



<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/SPYZyRGwtYs?si=uzixZgHlPza7IpN6
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">The fluid-mechanical secrets of the squirting cucumber (Ecballium Elaterium). Credit: American Physical Society</figcaption></figure>



“It’s super interesting to watch the explosions through high-speed recordings, as the explosions happen way too fast to see anything in real time,” Gorges said.



The 10,000 fps clips compress a chaotic spray into graceful arcs, letting the researchers trace individual seeds out to distances of 12 meters (39 feet) - an impressive range for an object smaller than a rice grain.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-inspiration-for-soft-robotics">Inspiration for soft robotics</h2>



Translating nature’s launchers into human technology is a growing pursuit in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/new-soft-robot-crawls-moves-like-origami-folds/">soft robotics</a> and medical engineering.



In the cucumber, the driving energy is stored in a water-rich gel, a concept that might underpin future hydrogel-based actuators for microsurgery or targeted drug delivery.



“There are also many applications in soft robotics, drug delivery systems, and similar devices, where energy-efficient launching systems are desired,” Gorges explained.



Mimicking the fruit’s composite rind or its self-sealing hydrogel could yield actuators that store elastic or hydraulic energy safely until a precise trigger releases it.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-nature-s-launch-system-perfected">Nature’s launch system perfected</h2>



From stem straightening that fine-tunes launch angle to seed coatings that assist germination, Ecballium elaterium exemplifies how evolution can weave multiple traits into an integrated dispersal weapon.



By combining high-speed imaging with X-ray tomography, the Kiel group has mapped those traits from the cellular to the ecological scale. Their findings illuminate not just an evolutionary curiosity.



The researchers also offer a blueprint that engineers may soon tap to build miniature devices capable of their own rapid-fire feats.



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Scientists learn "squirting cucumbers" can actually aim their shots before exploding, watch how it works

When a ripe fruit of the Mediterranean squirting cucumber (Ecballium...

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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Worms dominated seas before dinosaurs

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



The full study was published in the journal Current Biology.



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Earth's oldest forest found in the United States

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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The environmental problem we actually solved

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

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

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







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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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What to plant in your garden in mid-July

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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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Wildlife tunnels save millions of amphibians

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Is chocolate the next nutritional powerhouse?

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

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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

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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

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

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

[sendtonews key="qjvhBOBnY8-2426650-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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

Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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

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