<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/grapevines-could-offer-a-breakthrough-alternative-to-plastic-packaging/">Plastic</a> bags are everywhere, and too many slip into rivers and onto beaches. A new analysis finds that policies that either charge a small fee per bag or prohibit them outright cut the share of bags found during shoreline cleanups by 25 to 47 percent.



The study combed through hundreds of city, county, and state rules passed between 2017 and 2023. It matched those policies to more than 45,000 volunteer cleanups across the United States to see what actually changed on the ground.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-who-ran-the-study">Who ran the study</h2>



The research was coauthored by <a href="https://www.udel.edu/academics/colleges/ceoe/departments/smsp/faculty/kimberly-oremus/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Kimberly L. Oremus</a> of the University of Delaware’s School of Marine Science and Policy (<a href="https://www.udel.edu/academics/colleges/ceoe/departments/smsp/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">UDEL</a>). 



Oremus and her collaborator set out to measure litter, not just shopping behavior, so the results speak to what ends up in nature.



The team relied on citizen science, meaning trained volunteers recorded what they collected during beach, river, and lake cleanups. 



They drew on <a href="https://www.coastalcleanupdata.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">TIDES</a>, a public database that stores those counts in one place so researchers can analyze patterns across time and place.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-studying-plastic-bag-policies">Studying plastic bag policies</h2>



To isolate the effect of bag policies, the authors used a Difference-in-Differences (<a href="https://www.publichealth.columbia.edu/research/population-health-methods/difference-difference-estimation" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">DiD</a>) approach that compares places with and without new laws over the same period. 



That design helps rule out unrelated trends that affect everyone, such as national shifts in shopping or packaging.



The headline result is simple. In communities with full bans or fees, the share of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/drinking-from-plastic-bottles-linked-to-high-blood-pressure-and-heart-problems/">plastic</a> bags in the litter mix fell relative to similar places without policies, and the decline grew in the years after a law took effect.



State level rules tended to be more reliable in the data than city or county policies. Effects looked similar along coasts and rivers, with hints of larger gains along lakes where winds and currents spread litter differently.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-plastic-policy-fees-vs-bans">Plastic policy: Fees vs. bans</h2>



Fees change the default at every checkout and discourage taking a bag when you do not need one, which reduces both thin and thicker bag use.



Other <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/carrier-bag-charge-summary-of-data-in-england/single-use-plastic-carrier-bags-charge-data-for-england-2024-to-2025" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">evidence</a> points in the same direction outside the United States. England reports an almost 98 percent drop in single use carrier bags at major retailers since its charge began.



Policies that only restrict thin bags often allow thicker <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/agricultural-soil-is-now-the-worlds-biggest-plastic-dumping-ground/">plastic</a> labeled as reusable. 



Those partial bans showed the smallest and least precise effects in the analysis, which is consistent with shoppers substituting one kind of plastic for another.



Some states also pass preemption <a href="https://www.ncsl.org/environment-and-natural-resources/state-plastic-bag-legislation" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">laws</a> that block cities and counties from regulating bags at all. When local governments cannot act, the study’s data suggest statewide policies become especially important.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-wildlife-and-entanglement">Wildlife and entanglement</h2>



The cleanup records include notes on animals found <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/microplastics-found-in-99-percent-sea-turtles-organ-tissue-reproductive-system/">entangled in debris</a>. 



In areas with bag policies, the presence of entangled animals dropped by roughly 30 to 37 percent, although the authors caution that the estimates are imprecise and more data are needed.



That finding aligns with what we know about <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/stories/single-use-plastics-101" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">single-use-plastics</a>. Thin bags linger in water and along shorelines, where they can snag, smother, or be eaten by turtles, birds, and fish.



Many studies track what happens at store checkouts, but fewer track what ends up outdoors. Shoreline cleanups offer a window into that last step in the chain from purchase to pollution.



Across the study period, the share of bags among collected items rose overall, but it rose less where bag laws existed. That pattern is exactly what you want to see if policies are slowing the flow of litter into the environment.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-global-plastic-policy-steps">Global plastic policy steps</h2>



A small, universal fee is a simple tool that nudges behavior without banning choices. Full bans can work too, and the analysis shows both approaches reduce the share of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/glass-bottles-contain-more-microplastics-than-plastic-containers/">plastic</a> bags found during cleanups.



The mix of policies should match local conditions. In places with more bag litter to begin with, impacts were largest, so targeting high problem areas with fast action can deliver quick gains.



Plastic bag rules are only one part of the picture. Negotiators from 175 countries are working toward a plastics treaty under <a href="https://www.unep.org/inc-plastic-pollution" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">UNEP</a> that could standardize action on a wider set of products and chemicals.



The study notes that bottles, caps, and other items did not decline when bag policies passed. That is a signal that targeted rules for other single use products would be needed to curb overall litter.



Adopt a modest fee or a full ban that applies across retail and restaurant settings, and keep the text simple so it is easy to enforce. Pair the policy with clear signs at checkout and with retailer reporting that tracks compliance.



Measure results in the same way the researchers did. Recruit volunteers, log items in TIDES, and watch how the litter mix changes year over year so the policy can be adjusted as needed.



The study is published in <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adp9274" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Science</a>.



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Studies confirm that a small tax definitely helps curb plastic pollution

Plastic bags are everywhere, and too many slip into rivers and onto beaches. A new analysis finds that policies that either charge a small fee per bag or prohibit them outright cut the share of bags found during shoreline cleanups by 25 to 47 percent. The study combed through hundreds of city, county, and state rules passed between 2017 and 2023. It matched those policies to more than 45,000 volunteer cleanups across the United States to see what actually changed on the ground. Who ran the study...

Honey,Bee,Pollinating,Sunflower,Plant

In recent decades, ozone levels in the lower troposphere have increased. Ozone (O3) is a secondary <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/plastic-pollution-is-making-the-ocean-more-acidic/">pollutant</a> formed during the reaction of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) with nitrogen oxides (NOx) in the presence of sunlight. It damages the leaves of plants and inhibits photosynthesis, accelerates and extends flowering season, and alters the number of flowers open at any one time. In addition, ozone changes the chemical structure of pollen, inhibits pollen tube growth and alters the amount of pollen and nectar formed, as well as their chemical composition. 



A new study by scientists from China and Spain has now proposed that ozone may also be affecting the health of insect pollinators in ways that impair their ability to pollinate flowers successfully. The study takes the form of a literature review that highlights the ways in which ozone impacts insect pollinators.



“There is much noise about the direct effects of agrochemicals on pollinators, a subject of profound societal attention, but it now emerges that ozone is a silent threat to pollinators and thus pollination,” said lead author Evgenios Agathokleous, an ecologist at Nanjing University of Information Science &amp; Technology. “These impacts of ozone have long been missed.”



Ozone changes the chemical composition of leaves and the amount and blend of plant-emitted VOCs. This means that leaves and flowers may develop unusual colors which can confuse pollinators searching for suitable blooms. In addition, the VOCs provide important chemical signals that attract pollinators and, if these change in composition, the plant-insect interactions may be altered as a result. Ozone also produces new volatiles that may be unfamiliar to the pollinating insects looking for cues about which flowers to visit.&nbsp;



This colorless gas is an important ally when it occurs in the stratosphere, 12 km above sea level. Here it forms naturally and helps protect the Earth from the Sun’s harmful rays. However, when it occurs in the troposphere, the region of atmosphere closer to Earth’s surface, ozone is a damaging pollutant. Tropospheric-level ozone gas is created by a photochemical reaction between VOCs – emitted by vegetation and commonly found in substances such as paint and aerosols – and oxides of nitrogen, which are released when fossil fuels burn. Tropospheric ozone levels have been rising because a warming climate is creating optimal conditions for its formation.



“Ozone pollution can affect the timing and duration of flowering in such a way that the occurrence of flowering is asynchronous to the activities of pollinators,” said Agathokleous. “It can also change the color of flowers, disrupting the visual signals to pollinators. Ozone pollution can also directly react with pollen, decreasing its quality, but also indirectly changing the amount of pollen.” &nbsp;



The research, published in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/trends/ecology-evolution/home">Trends in Ecology &amp; Evolution</a>, also indicates that ozone affects pollinators directly by altering their olfactory learning ability, decreasing their recall of learned scents, and enhancing their response to new scents. Ozone may further decrease the proportion of active pollinators at any one time, a distress behavior that implies fewer potential foragers will be around to pollinate flowers.&nbsp;



“Changes in the composition of the volatile blends could also have severe implications to pollinators because they might not recognize host plants and their qualities in the same way they did in the past,” said Agathokleous. “Within plant tissues, ozone pollution could decrease the amount of nutrients that are essential to insects, increase the abundance of chemicals that are harmful to insects ingesting them, and degrade the overall quality of plant tissues.”



The study authors conclude that there may be some significant ecological consequences of ozone pollution for the world’s pollinating insects. Ozone concentrations are usually lower during the night but, since night-time ozone levels are increasing, ozone pollution may affect nocturnal pollinators more than previously thought. They state that a new generation of interdisciplinary research programs is needed to evaluate the resilience of plant–pollinator interactions in areas exposed to ozone pollution.&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:bosman@truewan.co.za">Alison Bosman</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Ozone pollution threatens the health of plants and pollinators

In recent decades, ozone levels in the lower troposphere have...

Contrary to what one might expect, melting polar ice that introduces fresh water into the sea will not lead to sea-level rises of equal magnitude throughout the world’s <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/even-the-most-remote-oceans-are-polluted-with-microplastics/">oceans</a>. Instead, as an ice sheet melts, it leaves a unique pattern of meltwater distribution behind, known as a sea-level fingerprint. Although the concept of sea-level fingerprints has already been factored into&nbsp;current <a href="https://www.nature.com/news/huge-arctic-report-ups-estimates-of-sea-level-rise-1.21911">models used to predict future changes in sea level, </a>actual observational measurements of the accuracy of these predictions have been difficult to make.&nbsp;



A new study, led by researchers from <a href="https://www.lanl.gov/">Los Alamos National Laboratory</a>, has now used high-resolution satellite observations of the Earth’s high latitude areas to test model predictions and assess the risks of sea-level rise to coastal communities. The research takes a major step forward in predicting probable consequences of rising ocean levels by confirming the theoretical predictions and computational models that are used to forecast sea-level changes as the climate warms.&nbsp;



“Using&nbsp;sea-surface-height observations from satellites in the way&nbsp;we have done independently verifies observations of Arctic and Greenland ice-mass loss and allows us to tease apart contributions to global&nbsp;sea-level rise from individual ice sheets and glacier systems,” said Sophie Coulson, a postdoctoral researcher in fluid dynamics and geophysics at Los Alamos National Laboratory, and lead author on the paper.&nbsp;



“Accurately predicting regional patterns of sea-level change is absolutely central to understanding the impacts of future climate change and forecasting hazards,” she emphasized.&nbsp;



The theoretical models predict that sea level will actually fall in the immediate vicinity around a melting ice sheet. This is because ice sheets and glaciers have a small gravitational pull on the water that surrounds them and the strength of this force is related to the mass of the ice. As an ice sheet or glacier melts, it loses mass and therefore the gravitational pull it exerts on the nearby ocean water becomes weaker. This causes the sea level to fall.&nbsp;



In addition, as ice sheets melt, complex geological processes cause the surrounding seawater that is no longer attracted so strongly to the diminishing ice mass to move away towards oceans in the middle and low latitudes of the world. This means that sea levels are likely to rise faster in the tropical and subtropical regions, far away from the actual location of the ice sheet or glacier. For example, sea-level rise in California and Florida, generated by the melting of the Antarctic ice sheet, is predicted to be as much as 52 percent greater than average sea-level rise across the rest of the world.



“As this melting continues, and the water is redistributed around the global oceans, sea level does not rise uniformly," explained Coulson. "And since every glacier and ice sheet has a unique pattern of sea-level change, these patterns have come to be known as sea-level fingerprints. But despite over half a century of research, these fingerprints have never been unambiguously detected.”



In the current study, Coulson’s search focused on satellite observations of sea-surface height in the oceans surrounding the Greenland ice sheet over the last three decades. The research team expected to see a lowering of sea level in waters around the ice sheet as it is melting and losing mass. Their models also predicted that progressively higher levels of sea rise would be recorded in oceans further away from Greenland, as the ocean water is freed from gravitational attraction to the ice sheet and heads out into the open ocean.&nbsp;



“We predicted what the pattern of sea-level change would be around Greenland using new estimates of ice melting in the area,” Coulson said. “When we then compared this pattern to satellite observations of sea-level change the fit was remarkable. It was an incredible eureka moment for us when the team saw it – ‘there it is, the sea-level fingerprint!’”



In the past it was not possible to detect sea-level fingerprints in the Arctic and Antarctic regions because the sea-surface-heights were not measured around polar ice sheets at these high latitudes. The research team on the&nbsp;Science&nbsp;paper took advantage of processed satellite observations that extend to much higher latitudes than previously possible, where the fingerprint signal is the largest. The team processed this satellite data using a powerful new technique to remove the variability due to ocean dynamics.



The new study confirms the accuracy of the geophysical predictions of sea-level change and adds confidence to projections of sea-level rise across the next decades and century. As Coulson says, “It’s a powerful and sensitive approach to monitoring ice sheets and glaciers in our warming world.”



The results of the analysis are published in the journal Science.&nbsp;



Image Credit: Courtesy of Dr. Laurence C. Smith of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.



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By <a href="mailto:bosman@truewan.co.za">Alison Bosman</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Elusive sea-level “fingerprint” detected around Greenland ice sheet

Contrary to what one might expect, melting polar ice that...

The environmental costs of the digital cryptocurrency Bitcoin are shockingly high and are only getting worse, according to a study from the <a href="https://www.unm.edu/">University of New Mexico</a>. The experts report that the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/generation-z-doesnt-recognize-the-climate-impact-of-meat-consumption/">climate</a> impacts from mining Bitcoin are comparable to that of natural gas or beef production.



“We find no evidence that Bitcoin mining is becoming more sustainable over time,” said Professor Benjamin A. Jones. “Rather, our results suggest the opposite: Bitcoin mining is becoming dirtier and more damaging to the climate over time. In short, Bitcoin’s environmental footprint is moving in the wrong direction.”



In collaboration with Professor Robert Berrens and Andrew Goodkind, Professor Jones estimated the climate damages associated with Bitcoin mining between January 2016 and December 2021. The experts found that in 2020 alone, Bitcoin mining used 75.4 terawatt hours of electricity (TWh). This is higher than the electricity used by Austria or Portugal during the same year.&nbsp;



“Globally, the mining, or production, of Bitcoin is using tremendous amounts of electricity, mostly from fossil fuels, such as coal and natural gas. This is causing huge amounts of air pollution and carbon emissions, which is negatively impacting our global climate and our health,” said Professor Jones.&nbsp;



“We find several instances between 2016-2021 where Bitcoin is more damaging to the climate than a single Bitcoin is actually worth. Put differently, Bitcoin mining, in some instances, creates climate damages in excess of a coin’s value. This is extremely troubling from a sustainability perspective.”



The study also revealed that the CO2 equivalent emissions from electricity generation for Bitcoin mining increased 126-fold from 2016 to 2021. 



The estimates indicate that each Bitcoin mined in 2021 generated $11,314 in climate damages, with total global damages exceeding 12 billion dollars between 2016 and 2021. The calculations also suggest that in May 2020, each dollar of Bitcoin generated was associated with $1.56 in global climate damages.



“Across the class of digitally scarce goods, our focus is on those cryptocurrencies that rely on proof-of-work (POW) production techniques, which can be highly energy intensive,” said Professor Berrens. “Within broader efforts to mitigate climate change, the policy challenge is creating governance mechanisms for an emergent, decentralized industry, which includes energy-intensive POW cryptocurrencies. We believe that such efforts would be aided by measurable, empirical signals concerning potentially unsustainable climate damages, in monetary terms.”



The research is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/srep/">Scientific Reports</a>.



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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

Environmental costs of Bitcoin are getting worse over time

The environmental costs of the digital cryptocurrency Bitcoin are shockingly...

<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/humanity-should-brace-for-catastrophic-climate-change/">Climate change</a> and related extreme weather events such as heatwaves or droughts are putting livestock at risk, causing huge economic losses for the production chain. To solve this problem, a research team led by the <a href="https://piacenza.unicatt.it/">Catholic University of the Sacred Heart</a> in Piacenza, Italy, are searching for genes to make cattle and sheep breeds more resistant to climate change.



“Production loss due to heat depends on environmental conditions, as assessed by the temperature/humidity index (THI),” explained study senior author Professor Paolo Ajmone-Marsan, a professor of Animal Breeding at the Catholic University. “Several studies revealed worrying estimates of the order of millions of euros in direct costs (loss of production) and indirect costs (cost of veterinary interventions, fodder, etc.).”



Recent research estimates that the loss of global production from heat stress could reach $40 billion a year by the end of the century, equivalent to ten percent of the 2005 value of meat and milk. “Heat stress is deleterious to all animal species, particularly for ruminants and high-producing dairy cattle, as well as our breeds,” said study co-author Riccardo Negrini, an expert in Animal Science at the same university. “Unfortunately, climate projections indicate that summer weather in our country will be increasingly dry and hot. That will increase stress in animals, despite shading, ventilation, sprinkling of water, and possible conditioning.”



However, according to Professor Ajmone-Marsan, genomics can now be efficiently employed to save livestock from the harmful effects of climate change. For instance, national breeding programs have changed the selection goals of livestock species, favoring animals which are more robust and resilient to environmental factors, and not just highly productive (as previous breeding efforts did).&nbsp;



Through genomics, several genetic variants which help animals to better adapt to hostile climates have already been identified. For example, in some local Caribbean cattle breeds, such as Senepol, Limoneiro, and Carora, a “slick” mutation that results in hair shortening and other physiological changes that make the animals highly resistant to heat stress has recently been discovered. This mutation has been introduced into the Friesian cattle breed in Florida, making them more resilient to climate change.



“Many ongoing research projects are looking for other favorable genetic variants associated with adaptation to the environment in other breeds and other species. We are actively involved in some of these projects,” said study co-author Licia Colli, a researcher in Zootechnics at the Catholic University. “Understanding the genetic and epigenetic mechanisms of climate adaptation is important for planning genetic and genomic improvement programs that increase the production efficiency of local breeds without compromising their adaptive traits.”



“Genomics is a powerful tool and it will facilitate the selection of animals more resilient to climate change, but it is only one of the factors that can ensure animal welfare in extreme climates; it’s crucial also to control farm structures, breeding management, and precision feeding. The good news is that animals in production are increasingly closely monitored by cameras, sensors, and intelligent data analysis systems, that alert farmers as soon as animals show the first signs of stress, allowing immediate implementation of mitigation measures,” concluded Emilio Trevisi, a professor of Animal Sciences, Food, and Nutrition at the same university.&nbsp;



The study – which comprehensively reviews several of current genomic projects aiming to increase farm animals’ resilience to climate change – was published in the journal <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/11/10/2833">MDPI Animals</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Genomics can help farm animals adapt to climate change

Climate change and related extreme weather events such as heatwaves...

The Vredefort <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/new-impact-crater-dates-back-to-the-end-of-the-dinosaurs/">crater</a> in South Africa – caused by an asteroid impact about two billion years ago – is the largest of its kind on our planet, stretching as far as 300 kilometers from rim to rim. Since the scars left by the asteroid collision have long since been scoured away by the elements, it is not completely clear what was the size of the cosmic object that produced it was. 



However, by using more accurate simulations of the impact event, a team of scientists led by <a href="https://www.jhu.edu/">Johns Hopkins University</a> has now argued that the asteroid that created the crater was larger than the previous estimates of 15 kilometers in diameter, most likely measuring between 20 and 25 kilometers.



“Understanding the largest impact structure that we have on Earth is critical,” said study lead author Natalie Allen, an astrophysicist at Johns Hopkins. “Having access to the information provided by a structure like the Vredefort crater is a great opportunity to test our model and our understanding of the geologic evidence so we can better understand impacts on Earth and beyond.”



The scientists used the <a href="https://isale-code.github.io/">Simplified Arbitrary Lagrangian Eulerian</a> (iSALE) computer simulation model to provide a better estimate of the impact event, and discovered that the asteroid that crashed into the Earth two billion years ago was larger than the Chicxulub asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs 66 million years ago.



“Unlike the Chicxulub impact, the Vredefort impact did not leave a record of mass extinction or forest fires, given that there were only single-cell lifeforms and no trees existed two billion years ago,” explained study co-author Miki Nakajima, a planetary scientist at the <a href="https://www.rochester.edu/">University of Rochester</a>. “However, the impact would have affected the global climate potentially more extensively than the Chicxulub impact did.”



Dust and aerosols emerging from the impact would have blocked out the Sun and significantly cooled the Earth’s surface for days or even years or decades after the event, possibly leading to a greenhouse effect that raised the temperature of our planet.



These findings lead to a better understanding of how the Earth evolved over billions of years, through massive geological and ecological changes, and in spite of many major asteroid collisions.



“It is incredibly difficult to constrain the location of land masses long ago. The current best simulations have mapped back about a billion years, and uncertainties grow larger the further back you go. Clarifying evidence such as this ejecta layer mapping may allow researchers to test their models and help complete the view into the past,” Allen concluded.



The study is published in the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1029/2022JE007186">Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets</a>.&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Largest asteroid to strike Earth was up to 15 miles long

The Vredefort crater in South Africa – caused by an...

The deep <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/plastic-pollution-is-making-the-ocean-more-acidic/">ocean</a> is a harsh environment. At 11 kilometers below, water at the Mariana Trench exerts eight tons of pressure per square inch. This is 1,100 times greater than the pressure at sea level on dry land.&nbsp;



Under this type of pressure, the normal tetrahedron shape of the water molecule is warped. Inside of an organism, this change in water molecule shape prevents biological processes from taking place, thus killing the organism. New research from the <a href="https://www.leeds.ac.uk/">University of Leeds</a> shows how fishes living at these depths survive otherwise crushing pressure.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



“Life has adapted to survive and thrive in environmental extremes. In the depths of the oceans, organisms live under extreme high pressures that would destroy human life," said Professor Lorna Dougan.



“These high pressures distort the liquid water that resides in all life, resulting in detrimental impacts to the biomolecules that underpin all biological processes."&nbsp;&nbsp;



“We need to understand what happens to water under pressure and how pressure-adapted organisms combat these effects. If we can understand how these organisms survive at extreme pressure, we can apply these findings to the wider study of biomolecular stability.”&nbsp;



The chemical that allows fish to survive these depths is TMAO - trimethylamine N-oxide. The research shows that the amount of TMAO in ocean dwelling animals increases with the depth they live at.&nbsp;



Led by Dr. Harrison Laurent, the researchers fired a beam of neutrons at water particles under low pressure (25 bar) and high pressure (4 kbar) with and without TMAO present. Without TMAO, the water bonds became distorted and compacted. With TMAO, however, the water bonds were strengthened and supported.



“The TMAO provides a structural anchor which results in the water being able to resist the extreme pressure it is under. The findings are important because they help scientists understand the processes by which organisms have adapted to survive the extreme conditions found in the oceans," said Dr. Laurent.



This research allows scientists to better understand how a plethora of newly discovered organisms can survive deep in the world’s oceans. The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s42004-022-00726-z.">Communications Chemistry</a>.



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By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

How do fish survive the intense pressure of deep water?

The deep ocean is a harsh environment. At 11 kilometers...

Rising global temperatures are causing droughts that are both more frequent and longer lasting, posing significant risks to people and ecosystems. New research from the <a href="https://www.uea.ac.uk/">University of East Anglia</a> (UEA) shows that a temperature increase of 1.5°C will lead to dangerous consequences in India, China, Ethiopia, Ghana, Brazil and Egypt.&nbsp;



These six countries were selected for the study because of their contrasting sizes and different levels of development. The countries range from tropical to temperate, with forest, grassland and desert habitats.&nbsp;



The paper, led by Dr. Jeff Price, quantified the projected impacts of global warming on the probability and length of severe drought in the six countries.&nbsp;&nbsp;



“Current pledges for climate change mitigation, which are projected to still result in global warming levels of 3 °C or more, would impact all the countries in this study," said Dr. Price.



In the 1.5 °C warming scenario, the drought probability is projected to triple in Brazil and China, double in Ethiopia and Ghana, increase slightly in India, and substantially increase in Egypt.&nbsp;



This changes drastically under a 4 °C warming scenario, where the probability of drought projected in Brazil and China is nearly 50 percent, up to 30 percent in Ethiopia and Ghana, nearly 20 percent in India, and 100 percent in Egypt.&nbsp;&nbsp;



The projected increase in drought probability increases alongside rising temperature. However, in Egypt even slight amounts of global warming could lead to large increases in drought probability.&nbsp;



“Not only does the area exposed to drought increase with global warming, but it also increases the length of the droughts," said Professor Rachel Warren. “In Brazil, China, Ethiopia, and Ghana droughts of longer than two years are projected to occur even in a 1.5 °C warming scenario.”&nbsp;



In a 2 °C warming scenario, the length of droughts projected in all countries (except India) will exceed three years. In a 3 °C warming scenario, droughts are projected to approach 4 to 5 years, while a 4 °C warming scenario may produce droughts longer than five years in Brazil and China.



Also, the percentage of land projected to be exposed to a severe drought is expected to increase rapidly by the 1.5 °C warming scenario in Brazil, China and Egypt, and in areas of permanent snow and ice in India.&nbsp;



These regions form the headwaters of river systems, and the water supply for millions of people downstream. Severe drought could lead to declines in water storage, affecting water supply.&nbsp;



Drought can have major impacts on biodiversity, agricultural yields and economies. The amount of adaptation required to cope with increased drought increases rapidly with global warming.&nbsp;



“Meeting the Paris Accords could have major benefits in terms of reducing severe drought risk in these six countries, in all major land cover classes and for large percentages of the population worldwide," said Professor Warren.



“This requires urgent global scale action now to stop deforestation (including in the Amazon) in this decade, and to decarbonize the energy system in this decade, so that we can reach global net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.”&nbsp;



The research is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10584-022-03359-2">Climatic Change</a>.



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By <a href="mailto:katherinebucko@gmail.com">Katherine Bucko</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Global warming will produce droughts that persist for years

Rising global temperatures are causing droughts that are both more...

Researchers at <a href="https://www.osu.edu/">Ohio State University</a> have found evidence that trees are bulking up due to increased carbon in our <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/methane-in-a-planets-atmosphere-could-be-a-sign-of-life/">atmosphere</a>.&nbsp;



“Forests are taking carbon out of the atmosphere at a rate of about 13 percent of our gross emissions,” said Brent Sohngen, co-author of the study. “While we’re putting billions of tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, we’re actually taking much of it out just by letting our forests grow.”



While the ecosystem, as a whole, may be suffering due to human carbon emissions, trees are one of the exceptions. They are using carbon to increase their rate of photosynthesis, allowing them to grow larger. The phenomenon is known as carbon fertilization.



“It’s well known that when you put a ton of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, it doesn’t stay up there forever,” Sohngen said. “A massive amount of it falls into the oceans, while the rest of it is taken up by trees and wetlands and those kinds of areas.”



The scientists used data from the U.S. Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis Program (USFS-FIA) to determine that vegetation is 20 to 30 percent larger than it was 30 years ago. Moreover, they also noticed that older trees continue to gain mass later in life.&nbsp;



While the researchers believed that planted trees, which are more carefully cultivated, would be more greatly influenced by the carbon influx, they found that the benefit was the same for planted and naturally growing trees. Also, since carbon dioxide mixes evenly in the air, vegetation all over the world should be benefiting from this carbon influx.&nbsp;



The researchers hope that the findings of this study will encourage policymakers to step up their utilization of trees as climate change mitigation since they are already active as carbon sinks and will more than likely become more efficient and cheaper to grow. For example, it may cost $50 to plant an acre of trees now, but carbon fertilization could bring the cost to $40 per acre in the future.&nbsp;



“Carbon fertilization certainly makes it cheaper to plant trees, avoid deforestation, or do other activities related to trying to enhance the carbon sink in forests,” said Sohngen. “We should be planting more trees and preserving older ones, because at the end of the day they’re probably our best bet for mitigating climate change.”



The study is published in the Journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-33196-x">Nature Communications</a>.



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By <a href="mailto:nire518@gmail.com">Erin Moody </a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Trees are bulking up from increased carbon emissions

Researchers at Ohio State University have found evidence that trees...

A new study led by the <a href="https://www.sydney.edu.au/">University of Sydney</a> and <a href="https://www.curtin.edu.au/">Curtin University</a> has found that Generation Z – those born after 1995 – overwhelmingly believe that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/the-debate-is-over-humans-caused-climate-change/">climate change</a> is caused by humans through activities such as burning fossil fuels, deforestation, and waste. However, only a third of the respondents seemed to understand how livestock and meat consumption are contributing to emissions and, consequently, global warming – despite the fact that over a quarter of the world’s emissions are linked to meat and livestock production.



The scientists conducted an online survey of Australian participants between the ages of 18 and 26 from Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Canberra, and Adelaide. When asked about the main contributors to climate change, 85 percent of them stated that coal, fossil fuels, and other unsustainable forms of energy contributed the most, followed by deforestation and biodiversity loss (59 percent), plastic, food, and rubbish waste (58 percent), consumption and lifestyle practices, such as services and goods (55 percent), transportation (54 percent), large industries (53 percent), and global population growth (45 percent). However, only a third of the respondents (38 percent) claimed that livestock and agriculture – including meat production and consumption and unsustainable animal farming practices – have a significant contribution to climate change.



“Young people will be most impacted by climate change, and already they are paying the price for historic emissions. A steep reduction in emissions will be required to curb climate change, so it is vital our future decision-makers understand which activities contribute most and make informed choices,” said study lead author Diana Bogueva, an expert in meat consumption at the University of Sydney.



&nbsp;“There is a clear disconnect at play –&nbsp;while global warming is high on the Gen Z radar, the nexus between climate change and food is yet to be properly understood by young Australians.”



Moreover, the survey also revealed that Generation Z does not generally engage with food provenance and don’t pay attention to food labelling.



“Without urgent changes to Generation Z’s food choices, now and in the future, meat consumption and livestock production will continue to drive global emissions, and I don’t think that’s a future young people want,” Dr. Bogueva concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/12/19/2512">MDPI Animals</a>.



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By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Generation Z doesn't recognize the climate impact of meat consumption

A new study led by the University of Sydney and...

Blood,Sample,Positive,With,Lassa,Virus,Test

The Lassa <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/viruses-have-eyes-and-ears-on-their-hosts/">virus</a> is a zoonotic virus, spreading to humans from Natal multimammate rats (Mastomys natalensis), most likely via their droppings. Although about 80 percent of infections are mild or even asymptomatic, the remaining 20 percent are quite severe, with symptoms including hemorrhaging from the mouth and gut, shock due to low blood pressure, and potentially permanent hearing loss. For patients hospitalized with Lassa fever, the fatality rate can reach a staggering 80 percent. So far, there are no approved vaccines or effective therapies against this virus.



Currently, several hundred thousand infections occur annually, mainly in Nigeria and other West African countries. However, by analyzing decades of environmental data associated with Lassa virus outbreaks, a team of scientists from <a href="https://www.scripps.edu/">Scripps Research</a> has estimated that, due to changes in temperature, rainfall, and land-use, the virus may spread from West Africa into Central and East Africa over the next few decades. With this expansion and estimated African population growth, the human population living in areas where Lassa might circulate may rise by more than 600 million.



“Our analysis shows how climate, land use, and population changes in the next 50 years could dramatically increase the risk of Lassa fever in Africa,” said study first author Raphaëlle Klitting, a postdoctoral fellow at Scripps. “We found that several regions will likely become ecologically suitable for virus spread in Central Africa, including in Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and even in East Africa, in Uganda.”



By considering projections of African population growth, the researchers discovered that the number of people potentially exposed to the virus could increase from approximately 92 million today to 453 million by 2050, and 700 million by 2070 – a more than 600 percent spike.



Fortunately, analyses of the dynamics of the spread of Lassa revealed that virus dispersal is rather slow, which may imply that – unless transmission dynamics change drastically in the new locations where the virus will circulate – its spread into new ecologically suitable areas over the following decades may also be slow.



According to the scientists, these findings should inform African public health policies by encouraging officials to add Lassa virus to lists of viruses under epidemiologic surveillance in parts of Central and East Africa.



“With the ongoing climate change and increasing impact of human activities on the environment, further comprehensive studies of the ecology and spread of zoonotic and vector-borne diseases are needed to anticipate possible future changes in their distribution as well as their impact on public health,” concluded senior author Simon Dellicour, an expert in Population Dynamics at the <a href="https://www.ulb.be/en">University of Brussels</a>.&nbsp;



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/ncomms/">Nature Communications</a>.



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By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Lassa fever risk could increase dramatically in Africa

The Lassa virus is a zoonotic virus, spreading to humans...

Looking,Up,The,Trunk,Of,A,Giant,Rainforest,Tree,To

The ability of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/10-largest-rainforests/">rainforests</a> to store carbon may significantly decrease due to climate change, according to a new doctoral thesis written by Maria Wittermann, a postgraduate student at the <a href="https://www.gu.se/en">University of Gothenburg</a>. This problem is caused by the fact that photosynthesis rates in the leaves of rainforest tree species are falling at higher temperatures and the trees’ natural cooling systems are failing during droughts.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Some species of fast-growing rainforest trees which established themselves early as the forests had been growing – called “early successional trees” - are able to handle rising heat by sucking up large quantities of water to their leaves and transpiring through wide-opened pores in the leaves. However, this does not seem to hold for trees that make up the canopy of rainforests in old growth forests (“late successional trees”), and grow slower, but get bigger and taller, thus losing their ability to cool themselves via transpiration.



“The tropics have not experienced Ice Ages and have thus had a relatively stable climate historically as well as seasonally. With climate change, it has started to get warmer and then we have seen that some species of trees are showing increased mortality rates, but we have not really known why before,”&nbsp;Wittermann said.



While early successional trees open the pores wider in their leaves, and transpire large amounts of water that helps them keep down the temperature in their leaves (much like an air conditioning system), the late successional species have more difficulties to stay cool since they don’t open their pores so much.



“We found large temperature differences in the leaves in our measurements. There could be a difference of 10 degrees Celsius between late successional species and early successional species growing in the same location. The late successional species had more difficulty coping with abnormally high temperatures. These trees had a higher mortality rate,”&nbsp;Wittermann reported.



Unfortunately, the early successional trees’ profuse transpiration requires a lot of water – which is not available during droughts. By contrast, late successional species’ reduced consumption of water makes them more resistant to droughts.



“Our results show that photosynthesis rates in rainforest trees falls when the temperature rises in their leaves, which occurs mainly in late successional species. The proteins and membranes in their leaves, that are essential for photosynthesis, fail, and eventually the trees die due to carbon starvation because they cannot convert enough carbon dioxide from the air. This affects the entire ecosystem. We know, for example, that some animals eat the fruits of the late successional species,” she added.



In her conclusion, Wittermann argued that, while this situation is currently worse in the Amazon – a carbon sink that might turn into a carbon source by as early as 2035 - in African rainforests climate change has fortunately not gone as far yet.&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Trees are overheating in warmer rainforests

The ability of rainforests to store carbon may significantly decrease...

Macro,The,Stinkbug,On,Green,Leaf

A new modeling study led by <a href="https://wsu.edu/">Washington State University</a> (WSU) has found that, in the United States, climate change could increase the suitable habitat for the brown marmorated stink bug by 70 percent. The foul-smelling, voracious pest migrated from Asia to the United States two decades ago.&nbsp;



By drawing on data from a three-year stink bug monitoring effort in 17 states, as well as several potential climate change scenarios, the experts estimated a possible northward shift in stink bug-hospitable areas, including the Mid-Atlantic, the Great Lakes, and West Coast valleys such as the Sacramento Valley in California or the Treasure Valley in Idaho. However, whether the insects will manage to thrive in these places will depend on the conditions of each area and potential mitigation measures.



“Every system will change with climate change, so the fact that you can grow garbanzo beans, lentils or wheat without these pests now, doesn’t mean that you will not have them in a few years,” said study lead author Javier Gutierrez Illan, an entomologist at WSU. “There are mitigating things that we can do, but it is wise to prepare for change.”



The brown marmorated stink bug is a generalist herbivore, known to feast on almost 170 different plants, including crops and even ornamental plants. Since its arrival in the U.S. two decades ago, it has been detected in 46 states and is considered a pest in 15 of them. Because these bugs like to winter indoors, proximity to populated areas appeared to help them get established in new places.&nbsp;



However, once there, they do not need people to proliferate, and other factors – such as water availability – have a greater impact on their abundance. Thus, although the bugs dislike cold winters, rising temperatures caused by climate change are not necessarily beneficial for them if the land becomes too dry. As a consequence, changing patterns of precipitation will likely play a leading role in influencing where the bugs will thrive.&nbsp;



Currently, some states (including Washington) are employing a parasitoid insect called the samurai wasp to control stink bugs. These wasps lay their eggs inside stink bug eggs, which not only destroys the affected eggs, but also gives the opportunity to wasp larvae to further consume other developing stink bugs.&nbsp;



According to the scientists, such measures may help prevent or minimize stink bug spread into new areas. They also advise Washington growers to use WSU’s&nbsp;<a href="https://decisionaid.systems/">DAS, or Decision Aid System</a>,&nbsp;a online tool that provides information to help them prepare for future changes to their agricultural systems, including the possible invasion of such pests. Finally, growers would also benefit from familiarizing themselves with the stink bugs through websites such as <a href="https://www.stopbmsb.org/">stopbsmb.org</a>.



“Most growers learn from their parents or from the previous generation, but the information that they had is probably no longer as useful because the climate is changing, so they need these types of tools,” Gutierrez Illan concluded.



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By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Stink bug habitat could increase by 70 percent in the U.S.

A new modeling study led by Washington State University (WSU)...

<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=lHHxOej4QfE
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Researchers found a correlation between Alzheimer's disease and traffic pollution.</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-invisible-threat-in-urban-air">Invisible threat in urban air</h2>



City dwellers face an unseen danger with every breath. New findings from Emory University researchers suggest that fine particulate matter from <a href="http://earth.com/news/traffic-related-air-pollution-might-increase-alzheimers-risk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">vehicle emissions may significantly elevate the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease</a>. The study examined brain tissue samples from 224 individuals who had confirmed diagnoses and volunteered their brains for scientific research.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-disturbing-connections-emerge">Disturbing connections emerge</h2>



Scientists analyzed neuritic plaques — protein clusters that characterize Alzheimer's — while mapping each participant's exposure to PM2.5 particles based on residential location and surrounding traffic density. The correlation proved more alarming than anticipated. Individuals experiencing higher pollution exposure showed nearly double the likelihood of elevated plaque accumulation in brain tissue.



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



The research team discovered that pollution exposure during the final year before death demonstrated the strongest association with brain changes. This timeline suggests relatively rapid impacts from environmental toxins on neural health. The connection remained robust even after accounting for various demographic and health factors.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-genetic-vulnerability-patterns">Genetic vulnerability patterns</h2>



Perhaps most concerning, people lacking the APOE gene—which naturally predisposes individuals to Alzheimer's — exhibited more than twice the susceptibility to pollution-related brain damage. Study author Dr. Anke Huels noted this indicates environmental elements like air contamination could trigger the disease in cases where hereditary factors don't explain.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-public-health-implications">Public health implications</h2>



These findings, published in <a href="https://www.neurology.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Neurology</a>, underscore the critical importance of air quality regulations in urban planning. The research suggests that implementing stricter emission controls and promoting alternative transportation could serve as powerful tools in Alzheimer's prevention.



As cities worldwide grapple with growing traffic congestion and aging populations, this study highlights an urgent need for comprehensive approaches to environmental health that protect both our lungs and our minds.



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Traffic fumes may trigger Alzheimer's

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHHxOej4QfE Researchers found a correlation between Alzheimer's disease and traffic...

<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=K0DuSr87SHY
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">57 million-year ice age mystery solved by Australian scientists.</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-when-earth-became-a-frozen-wasteland">When Earth became a frozen wasteland</h2>



Imagine Earth as a giant snowball, frozen solid from the North Pole to the equator. This wasn't the plot of a science fiction movie – it was our planet's reality 700 million years ago during an extreme ice age that has puzzled scientists for decades.



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



Australian researchers from the <a href="https://www.sydney.edu.au/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Sydney</a> have finally cracked one of geology's greatest mysteries: what caused the Sturtian glaciation and why it persisted for an unprecedented 57 million years. This period occurred long before dinosaurs roamed the Earth, when no complex plants or multicellular animals existed.



Dr. Adriana Dutkiewicz, the study's lead author, describes a world completely unlike today's climate. "Imagine the Earth almost completely frozen over," she explained. "The planet was blanketed in ice from poles to equator, and temperatures plunged."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-combination-of-climate-factors">The combination of climate factors</h2>



The research team discovered that this massive freeze resulted from a "double whammy" of geological events. First, plate tectonic activity reduced volcanic carbon dioxide emissions to historically low levels. Volcanic activity typically releases CO2 into the atmosphere, creating a greenhouse effect that keeps Earth warm.



Simultaneously, weathering of volcanic rocks in what is now Canada actively absorbed atmospheric CO2, further reducing greenhouse gas concentrations. When atmospheric carbon dioxide levels dropped below 200 parts per million – less than half of today's levels – glaciation engulfed the entire planet.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-modern-climate-implications">Modern climate implications</h2>



Published in the journal <a href="https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/geology" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Geology</a>, this research provides crucial insights into Earth's climate system. While geological climate changes occur over millions of years, the study emphasizes that human-induced climate change is happening at a pace ten times faster than previously observed natural changes, highlighting the urgent need to understand our planet's delicate climate balance.



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What caused the planet's longest ice age

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0DuSr87SHY 57 million-year ice age mystery solved by Australian scientists....

<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=WXXGGiynIjs
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Greenland is not sinking. In fact, it is the opposite.</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-contrasting-climate-response">A contrasting climate response</h2>



Most coastal towns are <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sinking-land-will-intensify-the-effects-of-rising-sea-levels/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">preparing for higher sea levels</a>, but <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/greenland-no-longer-has-to-worry-about-rising-sea-levels/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Greenland presents</a> a different scenario during climate change. The ground there is rising at a remarkable rate. Over the past decade, some areas have lifted about 20 centimeters, which translates to roughly 2 meters per century. This rate significantly exceeds current projections for sea level rise.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-geological-rebound-process-through-climate-change">Geological rebound process through climate change</h2>



The mechanism behind this phenomenon is straightforward. As the ice sheet melts, the immense weight is removed from the bedrock, causing the land to rebound upward. This process resembles the way compressed material springs back when pressure is released.



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



Researchers at the <a href="https://www.dtu.dk/english/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Technical University of Denmark</a> are documenting this uplift using the GNET network, consisting of 61 GPS stations positioned around Greenland's coast. These sensors can detect movement with millimeter precision, providing detailed measurements of the ongoing changes.



The data reveal that current uplift rates exceed the gradual rebound occurring since the last ice age ended approximately 12,000 years ago. This acceleration corresponds directly with increased ice sheet melting rates.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-coastal-transformation">Coastal Transformation</h2>



This uplift is actively reshaping Greenland's coastline. New islands and rocky formations, called "skerries," are emerging as previously submerged land surfaces rise above the water level. This represents a notable contrast to global concerns about rising seas.



The study, published in Geophysical Research Letters, demonstrates the varied regional impacts of climate change. While many locations face rising water levels, Greenland's bedrock is literally rising above the surrounding seas.



The full study was recently published in <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2023GL104851" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Geophysical Research Letters</a>.



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Greenland's ground rises while coasts worldwide face higher seas

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXXGGiynIjs Greenland is not sinking. In fact, it is the...

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSM3EVeGHJU
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Companies like MindStudio help companies train their employees to implement the latest AI Agent building platform.</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ai-agent-training-transforms-the-workplace-fear-factor-into-a-competitive-advantage">AI agent training transforms the workplace 'fear factor' into a competitive advantage</h2>



Organizations that offer comprehensive artificial intelligence training to their workers find remarkable value that extends well beyond basic <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mind-wandering-might-be-more-productive-than-you-think/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">productivity improvements</a>. Emerging research demonstrates that carefully crafted AI training programs <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ai-does-not-replace-human-creativity-but-enhances-it/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">enhance</a> corporate performance, lower operational costs, and dramatically improve employee psychological well-being by turning workplace uncertainty into professional empowerment.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-addressing-the-widespread-ai-anxiety-crisis-among-us">Addressing the widespread 'AI anxiety' crisis among us</h2>



A staggering 53% of employees expressed concern that the use of AI tools to automate work tasks could make them appear disposable to their employers, according to <a href="https://www.microsoft.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Microsoft</a>'s 2024 workplace survey. Such pervasive worry about being substituted by machines has caused what researchers have termed "AI technostress" – a psychological state that can result in occupational burnout and poorer mental well-being.



Data published in <a href="https://www.nature.com/palcomms/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Humanities and Social Sciences Communications</a> showed that belief in AI learning ability was a moderator in the link between technology adoption and work pressure, and higher confidence significantly lowered negative psychological responses. Workers provided ample training to become competent with AI software have significantly lower stress.



Companies like <a href="https://www.mindstudio.ai/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">MindStudio</a> have platforms for building what are known as "AI Agents". In essence, AI Agents are simply tools that employees can build for themselves or their teams quickly and inexpensively. MindStudio will even train entire companies, from the CEO on down, at no cost. By letting MindStudio empower employees, companies avoid hiring more IT staff, buying more software, and implementing solutions to problems that do not exist.



MindStudio even has partners locally for companies, like <a href="http://www.dominnus.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Dominnus</a> with offices in the Carolinas, California, and Denver, to help build AI Agents and support employees as they become resident AI experts for their organization. The training provided by MindStudio is applicable across other AI Agent building platforms as well.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-revolutionary-productivity-through-focused-learning">Revolutionary productivity through focused learning</h2>



Organizations that implement large-scale AI training programs achieve dramatic outcomes. Employees performed tasks significantly better when they utilized AI support compared to when they didn't, according to <a href="https://www.nngroup.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nielsen Norman Group</a> research findings. Their study documented productivity increases of 66% for a variety of professional tasks.



Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis research finds workers record 33% higher productivity in time working with generative AI tools. The benefit is equivalent to 5.4% of work time savings for AI users – around 2.2 hours per week for full-time workers.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-psychological-well-being-benefits-through-ai-competence">Psychological well-being benefits through AI competence</h2>



The emotional transformation when employees are provided with proper technology training is a fundamental transformation from fear to professional confidence. A survey of 600 employees across industries, carried out by ScienceDirect, proved that AI capabilities strengthen work environment commitment and improve job satisfaction.



A <a href="https://www.lut.fi/en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">LUT University</a> study discovered that AI adoption has no direct effect on workers' well-being but does so indirectly through working conditions like task optimization and safety protocols. Strategically deployed AI that involves correct training can actually increase workplace mental well-being.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-from-replacement-anxiety-to-partnership-confidence">From 'replacement anxiety' to 'partnership confidence'</h2>



Although 35% of those interviewed in recent McKinsey studies were concerned about workforce displacement, firms with large-scale training initiatives witness such fears dissipate quickly. The World Economic Forum found that two out of three respondents believe AI competencies will enhance their career prospects and job marketability.



This shift from fear to trust has measurable implications for job satisfaction. Applied Sciences research indicates AI can create tailored wellness programs based on individual employee requirements.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-financial-benefits-of-increased-retention">Financial benefits of increased retention</h2>



The mental health advantages of AI learning have a direct impact on organizational bottom lines in the form of a positive feedback cycle with high retention of employees. Recent ROI research validates that artificial intelligence learning has a beneficial impact on employee turnover and satisfaction levels.



PriceWaterhouseCoopers' research documents 20% to 30% improvements in productivity, market speed, and revenue in organizations that attempt systematic AI adoption through comprehensive training.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-environmental-advantages-of-ai-enabled-teams">Environmental advantages of AI-enabled teams</h2>



AI training has unforeseen environmental benefits as it makes the work environment more efficient. According to a study in Scientific Reports, the carbon footprint in writing and illustrating work is significantly lower when AI performs it compared to humans. AI software produces 130 to 1,500 times less CO2 equivalent per page of text created than human authors.



In addition, AI-driven remote work functionality significantly reduces environmental impact. Research by Cornell University and Microsoft indicates that remote workers reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 54% by not commuting daily to offices. Hybrid workers working remotely two to four days a week can reduce their carbon footprint by 11% to 29%.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cumulative-organizational-advantages">Cumulative organizational advantages</h2>



The compounding gains of better mental well-being, reduced turnover, increased productivity, and environmental benefits flow to enterprises from the pairing. McKinsey analysis estimates the long-term AI potential at $4.4 trillion in incremental productivity growth opportunity from business use cases.



As of now, 75% of knowledge workers globally utilize generative AI, mirroring widespread adoption patterns. Organizations that provide organized training and assistance see the most favorable results in productivity, worker satisfaction, and ecological sustainability.



The research overwhelmingly indicates that companies that invest in proper AI education, like that offered through <a href="https://www.mindstudio.ai" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">MindStudio</a>, establish win-win scenarios where employees are both more empowered and less stressed, and companies enjoy the gains of increased productivity, reduced turnover, and improved mental health outcomes throughout their workforce.



For more on MindStudio's free AI training for companies, visit the website's of MindStudio and Dominnus from the links below.



The research was published across a variety of peer-reviewed journals, including <a href="https://www.nature.com/palcomms/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Humanities and Social Sciences Communications</a>, <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/artificial-intelligence" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence</a>, and <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/journal/applsci">Applied Sciences</a>.



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MindStudio.AI: <a href="https://www.mindstudio.ai" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://www.mindstudio.ai</a>



Dominnus: <a href="https://www.dominnus.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://www.dominnus.com</a>

AI agent training boosts mental health and profits

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSM3EVeGHJU Companies like MindStudio help companies train their employees to...

<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=0HDXqTGEmi4
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Scientists give plants superpowers against bacterial disease</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-natural-solution-to-disease-through-crop-modification">A natural solution to disease through crop modification.</h2>



The agricultural industry stands at a crossroads between productivity and environmental responsibility, and crop modification often carries a negative connotation. While chemical pesticides have long been the go-to solution for crop protection, their harmful effects on ecosystems and human health have prompted scientists to seek alternatives. The recent breakthrough by <a href="https://www.southampton.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Southampton</a> researchers offers a promising path forward through the precise manipulation of plant-associated microbial communities.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-science-behind-microbial-partnerships">The science behind microbial partnerships</h2>



Plants naturally harbor diverse ecosystems of bacteria, fungi, and other microorganisms that function as biological allies. These microscopic partners contribute to disease resistance, nutrient absorption, and stress tolerance. However, until now, scientists lacked the tools to deliberately reshape these communities to enhance crop protection.



The Southampton team's approach centered on <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/engineered-plant-microbiomes-the-future-of-crop-protection/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">modifying lignin biosynthesis genes in rice plants</a>. This strategic intervention altered the plant's metabolic output, creating conditions that favored beneficial bacterial populations while suppressing harmful ones. The result was a living defense system embedded within the plant itself.



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



The successful demonstration against Xanthomonas oryzae, the pathogen responsible for bacterial blight in rice, represents more than a laboratory achievement. Rice feeds nearly half the world's population, and bacterial blight causes devastating crop losses annually. Traditional control methods rely heavily on pesticides that contaminate soil and water systems.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-looking-beyond-disease-resistance">Looking Beyond Disease Resistance</h2>



While disease protection represents the immediate application, the research framework opens doors to broader agricultural improvements. Future developments could engineer microbiomes to enhance nutrient uptake, reducing dependence on synthetic fertilizers. This dual benefit addresses both crop productivity and environmental sustainability.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-path-forward">The path forward</h2>



As this technology advances from laboratory to field applications, it promises to reshape sustainable agriculture. The ability to program plants with their own biological defense systems could herald a new era where crops protect themselves naturally, reducing chemical inputs while maintaining yields necessary for global food security.



The study is published in the journal&nbsp;<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-44335-3" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature Communications</a>.



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Revolutionizing agriculture through microbiome engineering

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HDXqTGEmi4 Scientists give plants superpowers against bacterial disease A natural...

<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...

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

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https://youtu.be/XYgiPzmNBTU?si=eFYY7gPHU1JznLvU
</div></figure>



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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Wildlife tunnels save millions of amphibians

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

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



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



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https://youtu.be/Ug657J67iEo?si=w96YjGMsg939LD_3
</div></figure>



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Is chocolate the next nutritional powerhouse?

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

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Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.igb.illinois.edu/">Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology</a> reveals how scientists can modify common crops like soybean, rice, and wheat to protect them from heat stress.



“We need to double crop production by 2050 to feed a growing global population, and not only are we not on track to do that, but climate change is further complicating things,” said Amanda Cavanagh, a lecturer at the University of Essex. 



The study is part of Realizing Increased Photosynthetic Efficiency (RIPE), an international research project that aims to develop food crops that turn the sun’s energy into food more efficiently.



“Using an engineering approach we designed multiple alternative metabolic pathways to photorespiration. Testing them in the field showed increases in productivity which led Amanda to significantly move the project forward by showing our engineered plants can withstand pretty extreme temperature stress,” said study co-author and RIPE researcher Paul South.&nbsp;



“As the climate changes and temperature stresses increase the pressure on our global food supply, farmers will need every tool available including engineering approaches like the synthetic biology used here to maintain safe and productive harvests.”



The experts tested plants modified to have more efficient photorespiration to see if they were better adapted to warmer temperatures.&nbsp;



The team found that the engineered plants produced 26 percent more biomass than the wild-type plants exposed to the same temperatures, and had 15 percent less yield loss under the higher temperatures.



Video Credit: Amanda Nguyen/University of Illinois



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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.

Designing crops that can beat the heat

[sendtonews key="QGPzYnXEtN-1712599-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from Carl...

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Today's Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> describes the first comprehensive estimate of carbon density in the Saharan, Sahel, and Sudanian zones of Africa. In an effort to measure the amount of carbon stored across these drylands, a team of scientists used high-resolution satellite images and artificial intelligence to map nearly 10 billion individual trees. 



"The high spatial resolution (50 cm) combined with AI and field measurements used in this study is key to improving tree inventories in drylands," said Pierre Hiernaux, a French researcher working for NASA. "The ever-increasing availability of very high-resolution satellite imagery will make it possible to assess carbon pools and their dynamics at the individual tree level on a global scale."



"This study is exceptional because it is pioneering a type of approach that will revolutionize the monitoring of trees and forests on a global scale: in the short term, it will be possible to map the world's trees from the centre of the Amazon to our schoolyards," said <a href="https://www.inrae.fr/en">INRAE</a> researcher Jean-Pierre Wigneron.



"Many fields of application will become much more efficient and accurate, such as tracking carbon stocks, biodiversity, monitoring logging and protection against illegal forest degradation, in near real time.”



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&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.

Remote sensing will revolutionize the way we monitor trees

[sendtonews key="EjmSP20gQK-2593093-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from NASA...

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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 



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Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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Today's Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> features a visual dataset of.methane emissions from wetlands across the globe. Atmospheric methane levels have reached record highs in recent years, and wetlands are a major source of these emissions.&nbsp;



"Methane is an important greenhouse gas that contributes substantially to global warming. On a molecule by molecule basis, methane is much more efficient at trapping heat than carbon dioxide, the main driver of warming," says NASA.



"Though human activities, including agriculture, oil and natural gas production and use, and waste disposal, collectively contribute the majority of methane to the atmosphere, about a third of total methane emissions comes from wetlands."&nbsp;



According to NASA, understanding methane emissions from wetlands and other natural sources is critically important for scientists and policymakers who are working to combat climate change by reducing emissions from human activities.



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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Wetlands are a major source of methane emissions

[sendtonews key="f8fukm28Vz-2491833-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from NASA...

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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Today's Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> describes how record-breaking heat expressed itself around the world in 2022.



Scientists have determined that 2022 was the 5th warmest year since 1880. Furthermore, the last nine consecutive years have been the warmest on record.



From devastating floods and wildfires to natural disasters like Hurricane Ian, 2022 showed us yet again how a warming climate affects people across the globe.&nbsp;



"As we look back at 20:22 and years past, we see that each year we better understand the challenges we face and how important it is to meet them," says NASA.



Video/ Image Credit: NASA Goddard



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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.

2022 illustrated the consequences of a warming climate

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Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> describes Earth’s interconnected systems, and how this network is affected by rising temperatures.&nbsp;



During 2020, average global temperatures matched the hottest year on record. The hurricane season was also record-breaking, with many of the storms intensifying at extraordinary speeds. Hot water in the ocean is fuel for hurricanes. The satellite data shows that it's all one interconnected system showing how Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected.



According to NASA, dust swept up from Northern Africa plays a major role in the formation of hurricanes, and is also a key source of fertilization in the Amazon rainforest. As a result of<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/seagrass-wasting-disease-is-fueled-by-climate-change/"> climate</a> change, dust plumes are expected to decline, which will have an effect on vegetation far away.&nbsp;



Images from Earth-observing satellites show how the world’s plant life is affected by natural disasters, fires, and deforestation. Satellites also reveal how widespread changes in vegetation impact waterways,&nbsp; the climate, air quality. Satellites communicate by using radio waves to send signals to the antennas on the Earth. "Earth From Space" is a groundbreaking two-hour special that reveals a spectacular new space-based vision of our planet. 



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&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.

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://welcome.miami.edu/">University of Miami</a> Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science explores how changes in water temperatures have affected tiger shark habitats and movements in the North Atlantic Ocean. The study reveals that rising temperatures have caused the sharks to shift toward the poles over the past 40 years.



“Tiger shark annual migrations have expanded poleward, paralleling rising water temperatures,” explained study lead author Neil Hammerschlag. “These results have consequences for tiger shark conservation, since shifts in their movements outside of marine protected areas may leave them more vulnerable to commercial fishing.”



The researchers analyzed nine years of tracking data from satellite-tagged tiger sharks, combined with four decades of conventional tag and recapture data provided by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Cooperative Shark Tagging Program.



The experts found that during the last decade of record heat, for every one-degree Celsius increase in water temperatures, tiger sharks migrated further poleward by over 400 kilometers. They also migrated two weeks earlier than usual to waters off the northeastern coast of the United States.



“Given their role as apex predators, these changes to tiger shark movements may alter predator-prey interactions, leading to ecological imbalances, and more frequent encounters with humans,” concluded Professor Hammerschlag.



Video Credit: University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science



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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.

Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

Today’s Video of the Day from the University of Miami...

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> is focused on the melt ponds that emerge during the spring and summer on the Greenland Ice Sheet, which is the largest ice mass in the northern hemisphere.



"Melt ponds are vast pools of open water that form on both sea ice and ice sheets and are visible as turquoise-blue pools of water in this Copernicus Sentinel-2 image," says ESA.



"When snow and ice melts atop glaciers, water flows in channels and streams and collects in depressions on the surface. These melt ponds can speed up the melting of the surrounding ice since they greatly reduce the ice’s ability to reflect sunlight."



"This can create a positive feedback where an increasing number of melt ponds absorb more heat which causes ice cover to melt even faster."



According to ESA, Greenland has been hit with a late-season heatwave that began in early September. This caused the type of melt event that usually occurs in the middle of summer.



"In a recent paper published in Nature Climate Change, scientists found that major sea-level rise from the melting of the Greenland ice cap is now ‘inevitable’ even if the burning of fossil fuels were to halt overnight," says ESA. "Using satellite observations of Greenland ice loss and ice cap from 2000 to 2019, the team found the losses will lead to a minimum rise of 27 cm regardless of climate change."



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.

Melt ponds on the Greenland Ice Sheet

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> describes how Earth is unique in our solar system for its ability to sustain liquid water on its surface. But now, the water cycle is shifting as the climate warms, and scientists must find ways to predict how these changes will affect water availability.



Overall, 96 percent of Earth's water is saltwater, and nearly all of freshwater is found in ice and groundwater. These sources of water are linked as it passes through solid, liquid and gas phases.



In a warmer climate, the water cycle will be transformed. It will be easier for water to evaporate and form clouds, and storms will become more frequent and intense. Some regions will get too much water, while others will be left without enough water. In addition, soil moisture will be lost - which threatens food security.



Scientists are using satellite data from over the last 40 years to track changes that are happening in the water cycle. This will ultimately help us prepare for extreme events and better manage our water resources, according to ESA.



Video 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.

Tracking changes in Earth's water cycle

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Saturn,-,High,Resolution,3d,Images,Presents,Planets,Of,The

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Today's Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a> features images of Saturn from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope. The photographs capture the start of the mysterious "spoke season" on Saturn - when unexplained features appear on its rings. 



According to NASA, both the cause of the spokes and their seasonal variability have yet to be fully explained by planetary scientists.



"Like Earth, Saturn is tilted on its axis and therefore has four seasons, though because of Saturn's much larger orbit, each season lasts approximately seven Earth years. Equinox occurs when the rings are tilted edge-on to the Sun," explains NASA.



"The spokes disappear when it is near summer or winter solstice on Saturn. (When the Sun appears to reach either its highest or lowest latitude in the northern or southern hemisphere of a planet.) As the autumnal equinox of Saturn's northern hemisphere on May 6, 2025, draws near, the spokes are expected to become increasingly prominent and observable."



Experts believe that the spokes may be a product of the planet's variable magnetic field. When magnetic fields interact with solar wind, an electrically charged environment is created. This phenomenon is visible on Earth as the northern lights.&nbsp;



"Scientists think that the smallest, dust-sized icy ring particles can become charged as well, which temporarily levitates those particles above the rest of the larger icy particles and boulders in the rings," says NASA.



The spokes were first observed in the early 1980s by NASA's Voyager mission. Depending on the angle of the rings, the spokes can appear dark or light.



"Thanks to Hubble's OPAL program, which is building an archive of data on the outer solar system planets, we will have longer dedicated time to study Saturn’s spokes this season than ever before," said NASA senior planetary scientist Amy Simon, head of the Hubble Outer Planet Atmospheres Legacy (OPAL) program.



"Despite years of excellent observations by the Cassini mission, the precise beginning and duration of the spoke season is still unpredictable, rather like predicting the first storm during hurricane season."



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&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.

Mysterious "spoke season" captured on Saturn

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