Many people love their horses like family. New research shows that horses can serve as meaningful attachment figures for humans in ways that look a lot like our bonds with pets and even close partners. 



The study also introduces a survey that can reliably measure how attached someone is to their horse.



Researchers from the <a href="https://www.utu.fi/en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Turku</a> and the <a href="https://www.helsinki.fi/en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Helsinki</a> set out to test, not just assume, the depth of human-horse bonds. They adapted a well-known <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/pets-increase-life-satisfaction-as-much-as-marriage-or-close-friendships/">pet</a> attachment tool to fit equine life and validated it with a large, international sample.



The goal was simple: turn heartfelt stories into data that can be compared, tracked and used.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-questionnaire-built-for-the-barn">A questionnaire built for the barn</h2>



The team developed the Horse Attachment Questionnaire (HAQ). It draws on attachment theory, which describes how we form and keep emotional bonds. In this framework, relationships are often described along two dimensions.&nbsp;



Attachment-related <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/stress-rewires-your-brain-circuits-to-fuel-anxiety-and-depression/">anxiety</a> captures worries about being unloved or abandoned. Attachment-related avoidance reflects discomfort with closeness and a tendency to keep distance. 



The Horse Attachment Questionnaire reframed existing pet items so they spoke directly to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/all-domestic-horses-have-ancestors-in-russia/">horses</a>, riding, care, and time spent together.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-psychology-behind-humans-and-horses">Psychology behind humans and horses</h2>



The researchers gathered answers from 2,287 horse owners across 21 countries. The largest groups came from France and Finland. Participants completed a version of the Pet Attachment Questionnaire rewritten to reference horses rather than pets in general.&nbsp;



This breadth matters. Culture, riding styles, and management routines vary widely. A tool that works across contexts is much more useful than one that fits only a single country or discipline.



The statistical tests were clear. Most statements worked well to describe the human-horse relationship, and the same two-dimensional pattern appeared. Anxiety and avoidance explained how owners differed, just as in studies of human relationships and human-pet bonds.&nbsp;



In other words, the psychology that helps us understand parents and children - or people and dogs - also helps us understand people and horses.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-who-tends-to-feel-what">Who tends to feel what</h2>



The data also point to the kinds of owners who report anxious or avoidant bonds. Younger owners, and people higher in neuroticism, were more likely to score high on anxious attachment. 



These individuals worry about losing closeness with their horse or seek extra reassurance that their horse likes or needs them.&nbsp;



Male owners, by contrast, scored higher on avoidant attachment. They were more likely to keep emotional distance from their horses. These are averages, not judgments. They help explain patterns that trainers, vets, and therapists often sense but cannot quantify.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-culture-and-time-in-the-saddle">Culture and time in the saddle</h2>



Differences between countries emerged too. The model fit slightly better for French owners than for Finnish owners. One possible reason is riding practice.&nbsp;



In this sample, French owners were more often the sole riders of their horses. They may spend more exclusive time with their animals. Finnish owners were more likely to share their horses with others. Those realities might shape how attachment is expressed and recognized.



“Our findings demonstrate that horses can act as meaningful attachment figures for people, much like pets and other humans," said study lead author Aada Ståhl, a PhD student at the University of Helsinki.



"By validating this questionnaire, we now have a reliable way to measure those bonds and explore how they are shaped by factors such as personality and culture." 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-this-matters-beyond-feelings">Why this matters beyond feelings</h2>



A validated tool does more than label emotions. It opens doors. “It provides a robust foundation for studying how attachment influences not only the well-being of horse owners but also the care and training of horses,” said study co-author Océane Liehrmann, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Turku.&nbsp;



“Previous work has shown that insecure attachment styles in pet owners can impact the way animals are treated and even their behaviour. Applying these insights to horses could improve understanding of how human psychology shapes <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/recognizing-emotions-in-horses-can-improve-their-health/">equine welfare</a>.”&nbsp;



If attachment shapes handling choices, stable routines or training pressure, then measuring it could help prevent problems before they start.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-from-therapy-to-training-arenas">From therapy to training arenas</h2>



The Horse Attachment Questionnaire could prove useful in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/therapy-horses-are-helping-children-heal-from-trauma/">equine-assisted therapy</a>, where horses partner with clinicians to support human health. 



Knowing an owner’s or client’s attachment style could help tailor sessions and set boundaries that keep both humans and horses safe. Trainers may also benefit.



Understanding whether a rider tends to worry about closeness or to pull back from it can guide communication, goal setting, and feedback. 



The same insight could inform how barns match riders with mounts, or how professionals coach parents of young riders.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-human-bonds-with-horses">Human bonds with horses</h2>



Horses occupy a special place in human life. They are neither purely working animals nor purely companions. This study treats that uniqueness as a feature, not a flaw.&nbsp;



By adapting established psychology to the realities of equine care, the authors show that our bonds with horses can be mapped with the same clarity we bring to other relationships. 



The message is practical and humane. If we understand the patterns that shape our feelings, we can make better choices for the animals who depend on us - and for ourselves.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08927936.2025.2544420" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Anthrozoös</a>.



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Horses aren't just companions - they're part of the family

Many people love their horses like family. New research shows that horses can serve as meaningful attachment figures for humans in ways that look a lot like our bonds with pets and even close partners. The study also introduces a survey that can reliably measure how attached someone is to their horse. Researchers from the University of Turku and the University of Helsinki set out to test, not just assume, the depth of human-horse bonds. They adapted a well-known pet attachment tool to fit equine life and...

Changes in precipitation expected to impact vital crops worldwide. A new study has found that principal crops like wheat, maize, and rice will be impacted by future changes to rainfall patterns caused by <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/warming-shifting-climate-boundaries/">climate change</a> even if greenhouse gas emissions are drastically reduced.

Researchers from the <a href="https://ciat.cgiar.org/">International Center for Tropical Agriculture </a>and the <a href="http://www.uchile.cl/">Universidad de Chile </a>studied how permanent changes to regional precipitation across the globe will impact future crop production of wheat, maize, rice and soybean, four crops that represent 40 percent of the world’s total caloric intake. 

While some regions are already experiencing irregular precipitation patterns and climate change is expected to cause changes to rainfall and temperatures, many of the world’s key crop regions have yet to undergo any imminent precipitation changes. 

For this study, the researchers examined how changes to regional precipitation would impact crop production under four emissions scenarios to predict when an area can expect permanent precipitation changes, which the researchers call the time of emergence (TOE). 

Already, some areas have new climate norms compared to the generation before. 

The study, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, shows that 14 percent of land that produces key cereals will be drier and 31 percent will be wetter by 2040.

[caption id="attachment_1869475" align="aligncenter" width="650"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/drier.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1869475" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/drier.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="502" /></a> Image Credit: Lucelly Anaconas / International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT)[/caption]

Under a medium climate mitigation scenario, the researchers found that dry regions like Australia, Southern Africa, and Southwestern South America will only get even drier. 

27 percent of wheat cropland in Australia, 100 percent of cropland in Algeria, 79 percent of land in South Africa, and 74 percent of land in Mexico will face less precipitation under a medium emissions reduction scenario. Changes in precipitation expected to impact vital crops worldwide 

With a business-as-usual scenario, these numbers only increase. 

“These are definitely countries that will need to think rather quickly what they'd like to do with their wheat production,” said Maisa Rojas, the study's lead author. “What we're predicting are probably conservative years for time of emergence. Detectable precipitation changes are of course not only important for agriculture, but for water resource management more in general, so our results are relevant for other sectors as well.”

The researchers say countries like China and India will see an increase in precipitation no matter how much emissions are reduced, and the amount of rainfall could lead to increases in cropland and production.

[caption id="attachment_1869476" align="aligncenter" width="650"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/wetter.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1869476" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/wetter.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="502" /></a> Image Credit: Lucelly Anaconas / International Center for Tropical Agriculture[/caption]

Wheat fields in the US, Canada, and Russia will also have higher levels of precipitation, but the researchers warn that the precipitation changes will also cause rising sea levels, higher temperatures, and increase the risk of floods. 

Regardless of region or when the expected time of emergence is, farmers worldwide will see a huge change in precipitation in the coming years. 

“Farmers growing crops in those areas are going to experience significantly different conditions than what they are used to,” said Julian Ramirez-Villegas, a co-author of the study. “They're going to be completely outside their normal historical environments and many farmers are already struggling with historic variability.”

The results call for swift action and adaptation on the part of farmers likely to be hit hardest by precipitation changes. 

While changes are expected under any emission scenario, if greenhouse gas emissions are significantly reduced under the Paris Agreement guidelines, it could buy farmers more time to adapt, and less land would be impacted. 

“The precise nature of the changes is impossible to predict,” said Andy Challinor, a co-author of the study. “What this study tells us is that adaptation needs to be agile. For the first time, we can tell what changes to be ready for - and when they are expected - in our major crop-growing regions. Prior to this study, the rainfall changes experienced by crops were thought to be so unpredictable that no real advice could be given.”

--

By<a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com"> Kay Vandette</a>,<a href="https://www.earth.com/"> Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a>

Image Credit: Neil Palmer/CIAT

Changes in precipitation expected to impact vital crops worldwide

Changes in precipitation expected to impact vital crops worldwide. A...

If you’ve seen the movie Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, you may have wondered whether the “erasure” therapy seen in the film could potentially become a reality in the future. The plot revolves around two characters using this therapy to forget about their past relationship together. And according to real-life scientists, forgetting something can take more mental effort than trying to hold onto the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/brains-work-backwards-memories/">memory</a>.

A new study published in <a href="http://www.jneurosci.org/">JNeurosci</a> has found that if we focus on negative experiences rather than suppressing them, we may be able to force unwanted memories from our brains. This research was done by Dr. Tracy Wang and colleagues at the <a href="https://www.utexas.edu/">University of Texas at Austin</a>, where they had young adults forget images of scenes and neutral faces by activating a brain area called the visual cortex.

The findings support a hypothesis that memories can be forgotten by activating them, which goes against popular belief. 

“We forget the majority of our experiences,” says Dr. Wang. “This may seem bleak, but memory loss is essential to the human experience; we are bombarded with too much information each moment to preserve everything.” 

Due to how much information we receive on a daily basis, forgetting is actually an adaptive feature of memory that allows us to discard unneeded or irrelevant information, so we can enhance our access to other memories. 

“'Which information should be saved and which discarded?” asks Wang. “While this challenge is often solved automatically by the brain, people can also exert volitional control over what they forget.”

The study shows new evidence that intentional forgetting involves enhancement of memory processing in the sensory cortex in order to achieve the desired forgetting of recent visual experiences. According to Wang, this enhancement temporarily increases the activation of memory representations, which makes it vulnerable to disruption. 

“Contrary to intuition, deliberate forgetting may involve more rather than less attention to unwanted information,” she explains. 

Although far from being developed into the erasure therapy from Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, this new research does have the potential to develop into a treatment where it could possibly benefit people who suffer from PTSD or other psychological conditions.

--

By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Could “erasure therapy” actually get rid of unwanted memories?

If you’ve seen the movie Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless...

According to the <a href="https://www.cancer.org/research/cancer-facts-statistics/survivor-facts-figures.html">American Cancer Society’s 2019 Cancer Treatment and Survivorship Statistics</a>, and based on the growth and aging of the population, there will be about 22.1 million cancer survivors come 2030. This is a major uptick from the 16.9 million <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/nitrate-drinking-water-cancer/">cancer</a> survivors recorded in January 2019. 

These new findings appear in <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.3322/caac.21565">CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians</a>.

It’s important to note that the report uses the term "cancer survivor" to describe a person with a history of cancer, from the time of diagnosis through the remainder of their life. But many people with a history of cancer do not embrace the term “cancer survivor.”

The rise of cancer survivors in the U.S. despite leveled rates of diagnosis is based on population growth and aging and improvements in treatment and ability to detect cancer early on. The estimate of 22.1 million survivors in 2030 was predicted based on projections produced by the United States Census Bureau.

As of 2019, there are currently 8.1 million males and 8.8 million females with a history of cancer in the U.S. The most prevalent cancers among men are prostate, colon, rectum, and melanoma, whereas the affected women mostly prevailed over breast, endometrium, colon, and rectum cancers.

About 68% of cancer survivors were diagnosed five or more years ago and about 18% received their diagnosis more than 20 years ago. And about 64% are over the age of 65.

"People with a history of cancer have unique medical, psychosocial, and economic needs that require proactive assessment and management by health care providers," said report coauthor Robin Yabroff, Ph.D., senior scientific director of <a href="http://www.hsr.org/">Health Services Research</a>, pertaining to the challenges cancer survivors face. "Although there are growing numbers of tools that can assist patients, caregivers, and clinicians in navigating the various phases of cancer survivorship, further evidence-based resources are needed to optimize care."

The American Cancer Society released a <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.3322/caac.21548">cancer survivorship blueprint</a> to better understand priority areas for care delivery, research, education, and policy for those who have beat cancer. Furthermore, the <a href="https://www.facs.org/">American College of Surgeons</a>, the <a href="http://www.wholecancerpatient.org/">Alliance for Quality Psychosocial Cancer Care</a>, and the American Cancer Society are all working to better the quality of rehabilitation and posttreatment cancer care.

--

By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Shutterstock/RawPixel

Number of cancer survivors set to exceed 22 million by 2030

According to the American Cancer Society’s 2019 Cancer Treatment and...

Was Chicago named after a wild onion? Chicago is a fractious city, full of unresolved contradictions. A heap of concrete and metal, it looms over the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan, by turns both elegant and brutal. Known for political corruption and crime, the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/weekends-heatwaves-chicago-shootings/">Windy City</a> is also the beating heart of liberalism and culture in the midst of America’s more traditionally conservative midwest. 

Incorporated in 1833, Chicago has evolved from a small settlement to the third largest city in the United States, home to one of the world’s busiest airports and a hub of national politics. In the midst of its rich heritage rages a fascinating debate, full of opposing theories that rest on interpretations of its natural history, Native American linguistics, and French exploration, all delivered with the trademark bluster that puts the “wind” in its famous nickname.

For all of Chicago’s global significance, there is still a lack of certainty about the origins of the city’s name. 

What is certain is that the moniker derives from a Native American term that once described the region, probably from the Miami tribe that inhabited it when French explorers first arrived. A few notions have been largely disproven. It is considered unlikely by contemporary scholars that the original name translates to “playful waters,” “thunder,” or “big,” as some proposed in the past. The current popular theory that it instead refers to a species of wild onion once carpeting the region has more support, but even that idea has been contested. 

Those who have weighed in on the issue predicate their arguments largely upon analyses of records from early French explorers, notably those of René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle and his deputy, the naturalist Henri Joutel. La Salle is believed to have passed through the area several times and was certainly there in 1682. Joutel, who accompanied La Salle on his final journey in search of the mouth of the Mississippi from 1684-87, spent three weeks in what is now the greater Chicago area on his return journey to Canada following La Salle’s murder in present day Texas. His observations from that period, during which he investigated La Salle’s claims about the region’s name, are perhaps the most important in getting to the root of whether or not the city is named for a species of wild onion—or something else entirely. 

A series of articles in the Illinois State Historical Society’s journal hashed this out over the course of two decades. The three scholars responsible conducted detailed primary source analysis—and advanced a good deal of speculation. Their work—laden with detail and, in the case of the final author, a fair bit of snark—provides fascinating insight how history is written and rewritten.

For some time, three varieties of Allium—wild onions—were contenders. The possibilities were the nodding onion (Allium cernuum), a pink-flowered prairie denizen, the wild leek or ramp (Allium tricoccum), a white-flowered species with broad leaves found in forested areas, and wild or Canadian garlic (Allium canadense), a white-flowered species found in both prairies and woodlands. 

In <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/40192527?read-now=1&amp;refreqid=excelsior%3A826d9b955a875a7bacff284b5690cef2&amp;seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents">1991</a>, former attorney and historian <a href="https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2004-01-08-0401080373-story.html">John F. Swenson</a> narrowed it to A. tricoccum on the basis of its earlier reference by La Salle to the plant as ail sauvage, French for wild garlic. This was the plant supposedly known by the Miami as “checagou.” La Salle is known to have mentioned it as early at 1680, though Swenson concentrates on a reference to all three species in a 1683 letter. Explorer Henri de Tonti, who accompanied La Salle on some of his travels, <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=SFwOAAAAYAAJ&amp;pg=PA49&amp;dq=henri+de+tonti+wild+garlic&amp;hl=en&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=0ahUKEwj68rD5wcfgAhUEQq0KHUoaCowQ6AEIKjAA#v=onepage&amp;q=henri%20de%20tonti%20wild%20garlic&amp;f=false">recalled surviving on ail sauvage over a period of days</a> in 1680 after fleeing an attack by the Iroquois at Illinois’s Starved Rock, now a state park. Swenson assumes, reasonably, that Joutel was aware of the plants through his discussions with La Salle.

[caption id="attachment_1868296" align="aligncenter" width="700"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Allium-tricoccum.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1868296" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Allium-tricoccum.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="356" /></a> Allium tricoccum, Image Credit: ɱ/Wiki Commons[/caption]

Joutel, during his 1687 sojourn along the Des Plaines River, inland from Lake Michigan, tried both A. tricoccum and A. canadense and remarked that the former tasted of garlic while the latter tasted like cultivated onions, despite its common name, which is likely due to its physical resemblance to a form of cultivated garlic rather than its flavor. (At the time, there were no permanent settlements on the site of the current city due to its exposure to the elements, so the area bearing this name was more expansive and general.) It was unlikely that he would have encountered A. cernuum in the wooded environs in which he found himself, though it is conceivable that it may have been growing nearer to the lakeshore, which was more open. Joutel spelled it “Chicagou.”

In 2003, <a href="https://indiana.academia.edu/MichaelMcCafferty">Michael McCafferty</a>, a linguist specializing in the Miami language, further refined Swenson’s conclusions. Notably, he pointed out that “checagou” was an inaccurate transliteration of šikaakwa, the Miami word for both the striped skunk (Mephitis mephitis) and for A. tricoccum, which was so-named for its skunk-like odor when crushed. That appellation was given by the Miami to portions of what are now known as the south branch of the Chicago River and the Des Plaines River. The transliteration appears to have occurred due to the use by La Salle of a digraph, a character rendered as “8” at the end of checagou—so, checag8. The 8 represented several sounds, including -ou and -oua and may have been later mistranscribed by La Salle himself or by a Frenchman unaware of the second usage. McCafferty dispenses with the idea that the waterway may have been named for the skunk itself rather than the plant named after the skunk because the Miami were not known to name waterways after animals. 

A <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/40193646?read-now=1&amp;refreqid=excelsior%3Aeb284506ea4ebed67f9816ef03ce8564&amp;seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents">2004 response</a> by Carl J. Weber rather jeeringly notes that the form “Checagou” was used frequently in the decades after La Salle’s first mention and that Checagoua or Chicagoua never appeared on a map. He conjectures that Joutel was the butt of a joke by Native American guides, who, when asked about “checagou” referred Joutel to the skunky plant when in fact the area was named for a chief who had himself been named after the waterway known as “Checagou.” McCafferty issued a scathing <a href="https://www.questia.com/library/journal/1P3-877580301/author-response-revisiting-chicago">rebuttal</a> the next year, reiterating and expounding upon his earlier claims. 

Whatever the case, various forms of the word remained in use. Father Jacques Gravier, a Jesuit missionary, used the Chicagoua spelling several times in letters dating from 1697-1701. Antoine Laumet de la Mothe, sieur de Cadillac, another French explorer who founded the settlement that would later become Detroit, noted in a 1696 letter that, “... Chicagou comes next. The word means Garlic River, because a very large quantity of garlic grows naturally there, without cultivation.”

The name was later given to the city that sprung up around settler Jean Baptiste Point du Sable’s trading post, established near Lake Michigan perhaps as early as 1779 but likely in the 1780s. Whether there were onions growing on the site, we will likely never know. But wild leeks, or ramps have certainly made a come back—in the spring, when they pop up in surrounding forest remnants, eager foragers harvest and sell them to the city’s many gourmet establishments, a practice that has put the plants at risk. So it is that we Chicagoans may be driving our very namesake to extinction. The animals for which those wild onions were named, however, are flourishing. On many a hot summer night, the pungent odor of an agitated skunk can be detected on the sultry breeze, an olfactory reminder of the wilderness that once was—and that which remains.

--

By <a href="mailto:rtpallardy@gmail.com">Richard Pallardy</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

Was Chicago named after a wild onion?

Was Chicago named after a wild onion? Chicago is a...

Long-term happiness in marriage could be genetic. A new study from researchers at <a href="https://publichealth.yale.edu/">Yale School of Public Health</a> reports that couples who share long-term happiness within marriage may have genes to thank for their longevity. Published in <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/">PLOS ONE</a>, the study looks into a genetic variation that affects a social bonding hormone called oxytocin.

"This study shows that how we feel in our close relationships is influenced by more than just our shared experiences with our partners over time," said lead author Joan Monin, associate professor at the Yale School of Public Health. "In marriage, people are also influenced by their own and their partner's genetic predispositions."

Monin and her team studied 178 married couples ranging from 37 to 90 years old. Participants answered survey questions about their feelings of marital security and satisfaction. They also gave the team a saliva sample for genotyping purposes.

When at least one partner within a <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/couples-arguments-live-longer/">couple</a> had a genetic variation within their oxytocin receptor called the GG genotype, the couple as a whole reported greater marital satisfaction and security than those couples with different genotypes. This variation (OXTR rs53576) has been previously linked to personality traits like emotional stability, empathy, and sociability, however, before this study, its role within a marital relationship had not been examined.

Those with the GG genotype were also less anxiously attached to their spouse, meaning they did not exhibit insecure behaviors related to diminished self-worth, high rejection sensitivity, and approval-seeking behavior, as Monin explained.

Going forward, the team hopes to explore how other genotypes influence relationships as well as how OXTR rs53576 affects specific positive and negative experiences within a relationship to affect the quality of said relationship.

--

By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Long-term happiness in marriage could be genetic

Long-term happiness in marriage could be genetic. A new study...

A new study from Berkeley, California shows that in the years since passing a soda tax in 2014, consumption of sugary drinks has drastically declined. 

While <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sugar-tax-public-health/">soda and sugar taxes</a> have faced criticism from those worried that the government is overstepping its reach, studies have shown that high consumption of sugary drinks like soda can increase the risk of diabetes, heart disease, and obesity. 

The long-term impacts of a soda tax have never been studied until now, and researchers from the <a href="https://www.berkeley.edu/">University of California-Berkeley</a> conducted a study that provides a strong case for implementing future soda taxes in the US. 

The study was published in the American Journal of Public Health, and the researchers found that residents of Berkeley’s diverse and low-income neighborhoods reported drinking 52 percent fewer servings of soda and sugary drinks than before the tax was passed. 

“This just drives home the message that soda taxes work,” said Kristine Madsen, an author of the study. “Importantly, our evidence comes from low-income and diverse neighborhoods, which have the highest burden of diabetes and cardiovascular disease, not to mention a higher prevalence of advertising promoting unhealthy diets.”

Every year following the implementation of the soda tax in Berkeley, researchers conducted street-intercept surveys in high foot-traffic intersections in Berkeley, Oakland, and San Francisco. 

The researchers polled 2,500 people each year from 2014 to 2017, and in the Berkeley neighborhoods consumption of sugary drinks and sodas like Coke declined steadily each year. 

Over three years since 2015, water consumption also went up 29 percent in the Berkeley area. 

In Oakland and San Francisco, sugary beverage consumption went relatively unchanged, although in 2017 and 2018 the cities enacted their own soda taxes. 

Revenue from the soda tax in Berkeley is allocated mainly to nutrition education and gardening programs. 

The researchers say that while soda taxes do raise the costs of popular beverages, the reality is that if health costs were reflected in the price, the beverages would not be as enticingly cheap.

Soda taxes can persuade people into making smarter consumer choices and also help inform the public of the health risks taking a major toll on society. 

“I really want to push back against this idea that taxes are the sign of a nanny state,” said Madsen. “They are one of many ways to make really clear what we value as a country. We want to end this epidemic of diabetes and obesity, and taxes are a form of counter-messaging, to balance corporate advertising. We need consistent messaging and interventions that make healthier foods desirable, accessible and affordable.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette,</a> <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a>

Do soda taxes encourage healthier drink choices in the long term?

A new study from Berkeley, California shows that in the...

A new study from <a href="https://www.china-admissions.com/guangzhou-medical-university">Guangzhou Medical University</a> in China is warning that <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/more-deaths-air-pollution/">air pollution</a> can interfere with male sexual performance. The scientists have identified a link between regular exposure to vehicle exhaust fumes and a higher risk of erectile dysfunction (ED).

The researchers speculate that the inhalation of toxic particles may be causing inflammation in the blood vessels that deprives the genitals of oxygen. This condition would make it difficult for a man to become sexually aroused.

A 2017 study that was focused on more than 400 adult males in the United States revealed that men who were exposed to the highest levels of air pollution were 15 percent more likely to struggle with erectile dysfunction.

In the current study, the experts theorized that vehicle exhaust fumes may have an affect on sexual response. To investigate, the research team regularly exposed rats to petrol and diesel exhaust gases, and then analyzed levels of sexual arousal. The scientists discovered that the longer the animals were exposed to the fumes, the less likely they were to become aroused by sexual stimuli.

“Our results raise concerns about the potential role of long-term exposure to gasoline emissions in the development of erectile dysfunction,” wrote the study authors. 

The findings add to a growing collection of research that demonstrates an urgent need to address the public health crisis of toxic air. Experts just recently reported in the <a href="https://academic.oup.com/eurheartj">European Heart Journal</a> that air pollution is responsible for more than 800,000 premature deaths across Europe each year. 

The researchers found that, even though air pollution hits the lungs first, it is the cause of twice as many deaths from cardiovascular events compared to respiratory diseases. 

“The number of deaths from cardiovascular disease that can be attributed to air pollution is much higher than expected,” said co-author Thomas Munzel. “In Europe alone, the excess number of deaths is nearly 800,000 a year and each of these deaths represents an average reduction in life expectancy of more than two years.”

The study from Guangzhou Medical University is published in the <a href="https://www.jsm.jsexmed.org/">Journal of Sexual Medicine</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Regular exposure to car exhaust linked to erectile dysfunction

A new study from Guangzhou Medical University in China is...

As more tourists set out to observe wildlife, more revenue is generated that can potentially protect wild animals and their habitats. However, a new study focused on <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/african-elephants-wrinkled-skin/">African elephants</a> has revealed that wildlife tourism is causing them stress.


The researchers spent 15 months recording the behavior of elephants and comparing it to the number of tourists present in an African reserve. 

The experts found that the elephants were more likely to become aggressive toward each other when tourism was high. In addition, herds of elephants often became anxious and moved away from the tourists when multiple vehicles were observing them.

“Tourists who wish to observe animals in their natural habitat should be aware of their potential negative effects on animal welfare and research should investigate best practice standards to minimize such negative effects,” said study lead author Isabelle Szott of <a href="https://www.ljmu.ac.uk/">Liverpool John Moores University</a>.

The study was focused on the observations of 26 individual elephants at the Madwike Game Reserve, where elephants are viewed from game drive vehicles (GDs) that seat up to 10 tourists.

“Our results show that even with regulations in place, where wildlife viewing is carried out exclusively from GDs driven by qualified guides and overall numbers of tourists viewing elephants at any time are restricted, tourism led to changes in behavior of the viewed elephants,” said Dr. Szott.

She explained that elephants at waterholes often experienced frustration and stress, and became the target of other herd members. This increased the chance that the elephants would turn their aggression on the tourists.


To reduce the potential for conflict between tourist groups and wildlife, Dr. Szott suggested that a consistent minimum distance from the nearest individual should be established. “It would further give elephant herds, or indeed other wildlife, more space and may reduce the likelihood of animals moving off, giving tourists longer, more natural viewing experiences.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/subjects/zoology">Zoology</a>. 

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

More tourists can cause anxiety and aggressive behavior in elephants

As more tourists set out to observe wildlife, more revenue...

Exercising early or late in the day can shift your internal clock. A new study from the <a href="http://www.physoc.org/">Physiological Society</a> has revealed that <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/exercise-improve-thinking-skills/">exercise</a> can be used to shift the body’s internal clock forward or backward depending on the time of day or night that a person exercises. The researchers found that the extent to which the clock is shifted also depends on the timing of the exercise. 

The study findings suggest that exercise could help to relieve the negative effects of jet lag, shift work, and other disruptions to the body's internal clock.

The circadian clock is the 24 hour cycle that regulates many of our daily activities, such as eating and sleeping, based on cues from our environment. Exercise was previously found to alter this internal rhythm, but the effect has not been fully understood.

A team of researchers at UC San Diego and Arizona State University analyzed the circadian clocks of 101 participants for up to five and a half days following exercise. To establish the initial timing for each individual, the experts collected urine samples every 90 minutes to measure the time of the evening rise in melatonin and the peak of melatonin several hours later. 

Participants walked or ran on a treadmill at a moderate intensity for one hour on three consecutive days. Each individual was assigned a time to exercise out of eight different times of day or night. Following the third exercise session, the circadian clock was re-evaluated.

The researchers determined that exercising at 7 am or between 1 and 4 pm advanced the body clock, while exercising between 7 and 10 pm delayed it. Exercising at other times, such as between 1 and 4 am or at 10 am, had little effect on the body clock.

“Exercise has been known to cause changes to our body clock. We were able to clearly show in this study when exercise delays the body clock and when it advances it,” said study senior author Shawn Youngstedt. “This is the first study to compare exercise's effects on the body clock, and could open up the possibility of using exercise to help counter the negative effects of jet lag and shift work.”

The study is published in the <a href="https://physoc.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/14697793">Journal of Physiology</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Exercising early or late in the day can shift your internal clock

Exercising early or late in the day can shift your...

Flooding in Annapolis, Md.

U.S. coastal communities already facing the impacts of sea level rise. Coastal communities across the United States are already taking a hard hit from <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/humans-driving-climate-change/">climate change</a>, and the local businesses are paying a high price. A study led by <a href="https://www.stanford.edu/">Stanford</a> graduate student Miyuki Hino has found that downtown Annapolis had 3,000 fewer visitors in 2017 due to high-tide flooding, which is a loss of between $86,000 and $172,000 in revenue.

“Small businesses in downtown Annapolis rely on visitors. By measuring the extent of the impact of flooding, we can understand the business case - how sea level rise is already impacting businesses' experiences and profits,” said study co-author Samantha Belanger.

High-tide flooding occurs when ocean waters rise above the levels that the infrastructure was designed to handle. Water from these floods fills the streets and parking lots and prevents normal traffic.

According to the <a href="https://www.noaa.gov/">National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration</a> (NOAA), high-tide flooding days have increased by about 60 percent from 20 years ago.

“As global temperatures and sea levels rise, high-tide flooding becomes more frequent,” said study co-author Miyuki Hino. “For coastal businesses, that means more days when customers might not be able to get to their store. Even though most floods only last for a few hours, their impacts can add up.”

Annapolis, which is located on Chesapeake Bay, is experiencing the highest increase in high-tide flooding of any community in the United States. In the early 1960s, Annapolis had about four high-tide flooding days a year, compared to 63 high-tide flooding days in 2017.

“In Annapolis, as in many places, high-tide flooding is happening right in the heart of things. The historic district is a favorite among locals and tourists alike. It is now frequently flooding,” said study co-author Katharine Mach.

The researchers used parking meters, satellite imagery, interviews, and other data to investigate how potential customers were deterred from visiting a popular business region near the water known as City Dock during times of flooding. They found no evidence that customers were returning after the floods or had braved the water to make it to businesses.

“So often we think of climate change and sea level rise as these huge ideas happening at a global scale, but high-tide flooding is one way to experience these changes in your daily life just trying to get to your restaurant reservation,” said Hino.

“What we're finding is something many local leaders in coastal cities already know: the waters are rising up and surging into daily life. So are the costs,” said Mach. “Understanding the impacts for people today - at large and small scale - is an essential starting point for making smart adjustments to the risks.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="http://advances.sciencemag.org/">Science Advances</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Matt Rath/Chesapeake Bay Program

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a>

U.S. coastal communities already facing the impacts of sea level rise

U.S. coastal communities already facing the impacts of sea level...

Popular sleep myths can be harmful to your health. After reviewing some of the most common assumptions about <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/technoference-smartphones-sleep-productivity/">sleep</a>, a team of researchers at the <a href="https://med.nyu.edu/">NYU School of Medicine</a> has exposed how these myths can promote unhealthy habits. The belief that alcohol helps you fall asleep more easily or that snoring is harmless can actually threaten your health. 

The investigation was focused on more than 8,000 websites, from which the team identified the most widely held assumptions about sleep. With the help of sleep medicine experts, the researchers ranked these beliefs based on whether or not they were supported by scientific evidence. The assumptions were also ranked on the potential harm they could cause. 

“Sleep is a vital part of life that affects our productivity, mood, and general health and well-being,” said study lead author Dr. Rebecca Robbins. “Dispelling myths about sleep promotes healthier sleep habits which, in turn, promote overall better health.”

Among the top myths that the researchers were able to debunk based on scientific evidence, the claim that five hours of sleep is a sufficient amount is one of the most dangerous assumptions. This is due to the long-term health risks that have been linked to sleep deprivation. Dr. Robbins and her colleagues recommend a consistent sleep schedule with at least seven hours of sleep.

Another common myth that was negated by the researchers is related to snoring. According to Dr. Robbins, snoring can be harmless, but it can also be a sign of a potentially serious sleep disorder that affects breathing known as sleep apnea. The study authors advised that loud snoring cannot be dismissed. The experts also warned that alcohol at bedtime deprives the body of deep sleep.

“Sleep is important to health, and there needs to be greater effort to inform the public regarding this important public health issue,” said study senior author Dr. Girardin Jean Louis. “For example, by discussing sleep habits with their patients, doctors can help prevent sleep myths from increasing risks for heart disease, obesity, and diabetes.”Popular sleep myths can be harmful to your health

The researchers acknowledged that some myths are still up for debate. For example, sleeping in on the weekends disrupts the natural circadian rhythm for some people, including shift workers, but it may be better for them to sleep in than to only get fewer hours of sleep overall.

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.sleephealthjournal.org/">Sleep Health</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Popular sleep myths can be harmful to your health

Popular sleep myths can be harmful to your health. After...

According to researchers at the <a href="https://www.york.ac.uk/">University of York</a>, social communication played an influential role in how the human face shape evolved. Because <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/humans-hunted-6th-extinction/">humans</a>, short-faced, and large-brained, look so different from our closest relatives, the researchers concluded that Homo sapiens most likely developed non-verbal communications and gestures in order to survive.

"We can now use our faces to signal more than 20 different categories of emotion via the contraction or relaxation of muscles", said Paul O'Higgins, Professor of Anatomy at the <a href="https://www.hyms.ac.uk/">Hull York Medical School</a> and the Department of Archaeology at the University of York. "It's unlikely that our early human ancestors had the same facial dexterity as the overall shape of the face and the positions of the muscles were different."

The human face should be seen as the result of biomechanical, physiological, and social influences, the research team stated in their study, published April 15th in <a href="https://www.nature.com/natecolevol/">Nature Ecology and Evolution</a>. Climate and diet also contributed to the formation of the humans face, but the need for non-verbal communication helped shape our modern brow — smooth and capable of a wide range of movement. And human faces became slimmer, allowing us to express subtle emotions like sympathy and recognition.

Furthermore, human faces are still evolving. Over the past 100,000 years, our faces have become smaller as we developed cooking skills, therefore helping us process food more efficiently and chew less. This shift marks our transition from being hunter-gatherers to agriculturalists and city-dwellers.

[caption id="attachment_1871274" align="aligncenter" width="650"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/human-face.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1871274" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/human-face.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="216" /></a> Skulls of hominins over the last 4.4 million years, Image Credit: Rodrigo Lacruz[/caption]

"We know that other factors such as diet, respiratory physiology and climate have contributed to the shape of the modern human face, but to interpret its evolution solely in terms of these factors would be an oversimplification," Professor O'Higgins said. He continued, "Softer modern diets and industrialised societies may mean that the human face continues to decrease in size. There are limits on how much the human face can change however, for example breathing requires a sufficiently large nasal cavity."

O’Higgins concludes, "However, within these limits, the evolution of the human face is likely to continue as long as our species survives, migrates and encounters new environmental, social and cultural conditions."

--

By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

The shape of human faces evolved out of our need for social skills

According to researchers at the University of York, social communication...

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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Worms dominated seas before dinosaurs

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



The full study was published in the journal Current Biology.



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-----

Earth's oldest forest found in the United States

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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The environmental problem we actually solved

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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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What to plant in your garden in mid-July

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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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-----

Wildlife tunnels save millions of amphibians

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Is chocolate the next nutritional powerhouse?

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

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



---



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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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

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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

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

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



---



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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