Music often does more than entertain. It paints images in our minds, builds worlds, and stirs emotions we can’t always explain. A new study shows how even the tiniest human touches in sound can influence this inner world.



The findings from the <a href="https://www.sydney.edu.au/music/our-research/cross-disciplinary-research/sydney-music-mind-and-body-lab.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Sydney Music, Mind and Body Lab</a>, reveal how subtle shifts in rhythm and tone may fuel imagination in ways technology alone cannot replicate. 



These delicate imperfections - tiny fluctuations in timing or <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/music-and-the-mind-new-clues-about-how-we-experience-pleasure/">volume</a> - can transform repetitive beats into living experiences, sparking imagery that feels real and immersive.



Rather than simply hearing structured sounds, listeners create journeys filled with color, movement, and narrative. The study suggests that the human quality of music holds unique power to trigger creativity and emotional depth. 



The research also shows why live performances, with all their small variations, can feel more moving than flawless recordings, and why imagination often thrives when music carries traces of human touch.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-small-musical-shifts-big-mental-impact">Small musical shifts, big mental impact</h2>



Researchers asked 100 participants to imagine a journey while listening to repetitive drumming. Some heard <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/chimpanzees-use-rhythmic-drumming-to-communicate-in-forests/">drumming</a> with random micro-variations in loudness and timing, while others heard perfectly uniform beats or silence.



Those who listened to music with micro-variations reported richer imagery, longer imagined journeys, and more lifelike scenes. 



They often described environments filled with movement, color, or emotion that felt authentic and dynamic, which suggests these subtle rhythmic details significantly influence how the brain constructs vivid inner experiences.



"What excites me is that these little details in music are something we can all feel, even if we don't always notice them consciously," said lead researcher Ceren Ayyildiz.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-human-touch-makes-rhythm-alive">Human touch makes rhythm alive</h2>



The study, published in Scientific Reports, relied on computer simulations of drum <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-music-tunes-the-emotions-in-our-memories/">sounds</a>. Researchers created two versions: one with flawless uniformity and another with tiny, natural shifts mimicking human performance.



They then analyzed participants’ mental imagery responses with Bayesian multilevel modeling. The results showed that small fluctuations, often unconsciously introduced by performers, significantly enhance imagination.



These subtle imperfections did not distract listeners; instead, they added depth and texture to the soundscape, making the music feel more organic. Participants reported that the variations encouraged richer narratives, longer journeys, and greater immersion in imagined experiences.



This demonstrates that even the smallest rhythmic nuances can transform sound from a mechanical sequence into something that resonates with the human mind, shaping how people visualize and emotionally respond to music.



"It's not just technical perfection but the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/human-touch-molecular-basis-elkin1-discovery/">human touch</a> that makes music feel more alive and sparks the imagination," Ayyildiz said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-musical-skills-amplify-imagination">Musical skills amplify imagination</h2>



Listeners with musical training or strong immersion ability experienced even more vivid mental imagery. For them, micro-variations brought authenticity and richness missing from machine-perfect sounds.



"One possible explanation for this finding is that listeners may perceive drumming with tiny random changes - a core component of human music performance - as more natural and organic," said Ayyildiz.



The study highlights how human imperfections in rhythm bring authenticity and create a sense of connection.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-music-and-sound-variations-aid-therapy">Music and sound variations aid therapy</h2>



The insights also suggest therapeutic and practical applications. "Mental imagery already plays an important role in many cognitive therapies," said senior author Dr. Steffen Herff.



"Deliberately tailoring background music - for example through subtle changes in timing and loudness - could be used to either stimulate or dampen imagination depending on the specific therapeutic target," 



For audio engineers and producers, the study provides a new perspective. Micro-variations are already used in studio production as key aesthetic drivers in many forms of music including electronic dance music and hip-hop.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-human-expression-drives-connection">Human expression drives connection</h2>



For musicians, especially drummers, the findings emphasize the creative weight of subtle timing shifts. 



"This study demonstrates how the tiny details in rhythmic timing and expression can greatly alter our perceptions of music," said researcher Dr. Simon Barker.



"The relationship between micro-rhythmic variations and imagination, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/physicists-make-bold-claims-that-time-is-an-illusion-question-its-existence/">illusion</a>, and connection are at the core of the art of drumming, and this study is a lovely example of this central aspect of rhythmic expression and communication."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-music-s-power-comes-from-touch">Music’s power comes from touch</h2>



The study adds to a growing body of work exploring music’s role in imagination, connection, and even loneliness. 



Its message is clear: even in a world of machine-perfect precision, the smallest human variations breathe life into sound, reminding us of music’s timeless power to shape emotion, enrich creativity, strengthen bonds, and nurture a uniquely human sense of presence and belonging.



"Even tiny fluctuations can make music more meaningful," said Ayyildiz. "It's a reminder that the human feel still matters."



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://youtu.be/FEh_WfGeCTo?si=4ftg3JG20m5vyTxE
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Here, tiny fluctuations in timing and loudness introduce a human touch that breathes life into the rhythm - the kind of nuance shown to spark richer mental imagery. Credit: University of Sydney </figcaption></figure>



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-025-12604-4" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Scientific Reports</a>.&nbsp;



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Tiny human touches can make music sound more powerful

Music often does more than entertain. It paints images in our minds, builds worlds, and stirs emotions we can’t always explain. A new study shows how even the tiniest human touches in sound can influence this inner world. The findings from the Sydney Music, Mind and Body Lab, reveal how subtle shifts in rhythm and tone may fuel imagination in ways technology alone cannot replicate. These delicate imperfections - tiny fluctuations in timing or volume - can transform repetitive beats into living experiences, sparking imagery that feels...

Scientists engineer low-nicotine tobacco to help combat nicotine addiction. A 2017 report from the World Health Organization (WHO) revealed that more than 7 million people die every year as a result of the negative health effects of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/smoking-ages-20-years/">smoking</a>. In a new study, experts at the <a href="https://www.tu-dortmund.de/en/">Technical University of Dortmund</a> in Germany are working to engineer nicotine-free tobacco to help people overcome their addiction to nicotine and reduce this number of fatalities.

"Nicotine‐free (or nicotine reduced) cigarettes may contribute to reduce the number of smokers and nicotine consumption, thus reducing the risk of death from tobacco use," wrote study authors Felix Stehle and Julia Schachtsiek. Scientists engineer low-nicotine tobacco to help combat nicotine addiction.

"Most genes involved in the nicotine biosynthesis in tobacco are known and well characterized. This opens the possibility to employ genetic engineering approaches to alter the alkaloid content of the plant, and in particular to reduce the nicotine content."

The team used the CRISPR gene-editing technique to deactivate six enzymes involved in the production of nicotine. The result is a tobacco plant which contains the lowest level of nicotine to date. 

The researchers modified a tobacco strain that normally contains 16 milligrams of nicotine per gram to contain just 0.04 milligrams of nicotine per gram, which is a reduction of 99.7 per cent. Prior to this study, the lowest level of nicotine in any tobacco was 0.4 milligrams per gram. 

According to a WHO report, clinical trials involving low-nicotine cigarettes showed that smokers did not increase the amount they smoked to compensate for the reduced nicotine intake. The WHO experts also proposed that lowering the nicotine in cigarettes to non-addictive levels may be an effective strategy to eliminate smoking worldwide. 

The study will be published in the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/14677652">Plant Biotechnology Journal</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Scientists engineer low-nicotine tobacco to help combat nicotine addiction

Scientists engineer low-nicotine tobacco to help combat nicotine addiction. A...

Experts at <a href="https://www.columbia.edu/">Columbia University</a> are reporting that not all types of sedentary behavior have the same effects on heart health. 

A collection of previous studies established that sitting for long periods of time is linked to an increased risk of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/higher-education-heart-disease/">heart disease</a> and premature death, but the current study suggests that sitting at work is not associated with the same risks as sitting in front of the television.

The researchers also found that the detrimental effects of sitting on the couch could be reduced or completely eliminated with consistent exercise.

"Our findings show that how you spend your time outside of work may matter more when it comes to heart health," said study author Dr. Keith M. Diaz. "Even if you have a job that requires you to sit for long periods of time, replacing the time you spend sitting at home with strenuous exercise could reduce your risk of heart disease and death."

The investigation was focused on more than 3,500 participants in Jackson, Mississippi, who were followed for almost 8.5 years. The individuals reported how much time they spent sitting while watching TV and sitting while working. The participants also reported how much time they spent exercising in their free time.

The study revealed that individuals who watched the most television, 4 or more hours a day, had a 50 percent higher risk of cardiovascular events and premature death compared to those who watched less than 2 hours of television a day. By contrast, there were no differences in the health risks of people who sat the most or the least at work. 

Even among the most frequent television viewers, brisk walking or aerobic exercise reduced the risk of heart attacks, stroke, or premature death. For example, there was no increased risk in people who watched the most television when they reported exercising for at least 150 minutes of exercise per week.

"It may be that most people tend to watch television for hours without moving, while most workers get up from their desk frequently," said Diaz. "The combination of eating a large meal such as dinner and then sitting for hours could also be particularly harmful."

"More research is needed, but it's possible that just taking a short break from your TV time and going for a walk may be enough to offset the harm of leisure-time sitting. Almost any type of exercise that gets you breathing harder and your heart beating faster may be beneficial."

Even though sitting at work was found to be less detrimental, Diaz noted that the same approach to movement applies at work. 

"We recognize that it isn't easy for some workers, like truck drivers, to take breaks from sitting, but everyone else should make a regular habit of getting up from their desks. For those who can't, our findings show that what you do outside of work may be what really counts."

The study is published in the <a href="https://www.ahajournals.org/journal/jaha">Journal of the American Heart Association</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: Shutterstock/Robcartorres

TV sitting is much more damaging to heart health than sitting at work

Experts at Columbia University are reporting that not all types...

A new study led by <a href="https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/">Lancaster University</a> has revealed that bystanders will intervene to help victims of public fights more than 90 percent of the time. The research contradicts the perception of a modern society where witnesses ignore aggression and <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-violence-aggression/">violence</a> and fail to get involved. 

The study, which is the largest of its kind based on real-life conflicts captured by CCTV, showed that at least one bystander did something to help in 9 out of 10 public conflicts. 

The investigation was focused on unique video recordings of more than 200 arguments and assaults in the cities of Amsterdam, Lancaster, and Cape Town.

"According to conventional wisdom, non-involvement is the default response of bystanders during public emergencies. Challenging this view, the current cross-national study of video data shows that intervention is the norm in actual aggressive conflicts," explained study lead author Dr. Richard Philpot.

"The fact that bystanders are much more active than we think is a positive and reassuring story for potential victims of violence and the public as a whole. We need to develop crime prevention efforts which build on the willingness of bystanders to intervene."

During the aggressive arguments caught on security cameras, witnesses intervened in several ways such as gesturing for an aggressor to calm down, physically stopping the aggressor, or by consoling the victim. The researchers determined that the victim was more likely to receive help when a larger number of bystanders was present.

"The most important question for the potential victim of a public assault is 'will I receive help if needed?' While having more people around may reduce an individual's likelihood of helping (i.e., the bystander effect), it also provides a larger pool from which help-givers may be sourced," said Dr. Philpot.

The study authors found no difference in the rates of intervention across the three cities, even though Cape Town is generally perceived to be less safe. The researchers propose that it is not the level of perceived danger that motivates bystanders, but that help is based on any signal that the situation is escalating and requires intervention.

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/amp/">American Psychologist</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earrh.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: Shutterstock/Dusan Petkovic

Most bystanders will intervene if public disputes turn aggressive

A new study led by Lancaster University has revealed that...

A team of experts led by Ravid Ekshtain at the <a href="https://new.huji.ac.il/en">Hebrew University of Jerusalem</a> has found that the Middle Paleolithic site 'Ein Qashish was repeatedly inhabited by <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/neanderthals-extinct-declining-fertility/">Neanderthals</a>. Located in northern Israel, this archeological site is an open-air landscape close to many major cave sites of the same time period.

In the Levant region of the Middle East, most of the information on human occupation during the Middle Paleolithic has been obtained from cave sites. Sheltered sites are not only easier to identify, but are also likely to hold longer records of occupation because they were usually visited more often. 

The open-air landscape of 'Ein Qashish is significant for having been settled over an extended prehistoric time period, ranging between 71,000 and 54,000 years ago.

In collaboration with the Israel Antiquities Authority, the researchers identified human skeletal remains in 'Ein Qashish as Neanderthal. The experts also observed more than 12,000 artifacts from four depositional units in the same location on the landscape. The units represent different settlements during changing environmental conditions.

Animal bones and modified artifacts at the site suggest that occupants were knapping tools and consuming animals on-site. There is also evidence that 'Ein Qashish provided a stable and consistent place for settlement, hosting a range of activities instead of just a few specialized tasks. The research indicates that open-air sites may have been more important for prehistoric humans than previously thought.

"Ein Qashish is a 70-60 thousand years open-air site, with a series of stratified human occupations in a dynamic floodplain environment. The site stands out in the extensive excavated area and some unique finds for an open-air context, from which we deduce the diversity of human activities on the landscape. In contrast to other known open-air sites, the locality was not used for task-specific activities but rather served time and again as a habitation location," explained Ekshtain. 

"The stratigraphy, dates and finds from the site allow a reconstruction of a robust settlement system of the late Neanderthals in northern Israel slightly before their disappearance from the regional record, raising questions about the reasons for their disappearance and about their interactions with contemporaneous modern humans."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/">PLOS ONE</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earrh.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: Ekshtain, 2019

Open-air landscape in Israel was repeatedly occupied by Neanderthals

A team of experts led by Ravid Ekshtain at the...

A team of neuroscientists at the <a href="https://www.sussex.ac.uk/">University of Sussex</a> is reporting that variety may be a good way to boost learning and <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/too-much-sleep-memory/">memory</a>. A study focused on snails showed that the creatures were able to comprehend and store the details of two unrelated tasks, yet failed to memorize two tasks that were similar. 

"The brain of a snail is much simpler than ours but there are some key parallels which mean studying them can help us to understand more about our own abilities for learning and memory," explained study author Dr. Michael Crossley.

"We know that multiple learning events occurring in quick succession can lead to competition between memories. This is why, when introduced to multiple people in one go, we usually can't remember every name. Up until now though, we weren't sure which factors were causing a memory to be remembered or forgotten."

The researchers recorded the brain activity of snails as they were trained using food-reward and aversive conditioning. The team discovered that when a snail was attempting to learn two similar tasks, the same neuron was being used. This activity caused only the first memory to survive in a process known as proactive interference.

By contrast, when two different tasks were introduced, two separate neurons were used. This resulted in no competition and the successful storage of both memories.

"We realized that there is an overlapping or non-overlapping mechanism which plays a key role in determining which memories survive," said Dr. Crossley. "So if we want to learn multiple things quickly, we should try learning different rather than similar topics."

The findings suggest that students should switch between different subjects in one day in order to retain the most information. The experts also discovered that the timing of new information can play a big role in the interference of memories.

"In effect, we think the brain is deciding to replace the older learning, which hasn't yet been committed to long-term memory, for a newer one which it thinks might be more relevant," said study senior author Dr. Ildiko Kemenes. "Interestingly, it's only when trying to learn something new during a memory lapse that this interference happens."

"This suggests that the older memory was only vulnerable due to new memories being formed. This makes sense when we think about humans as we wouldn't want a system where our memories are vulnerable if someone bumps into us at the wrong time!"

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/commsbio/">Communications Biology</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earrh.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: Shutterstock

Variety may be key to helping us store memories

A team of neuroscientists at the University of Sussex is...

Ancient man-made weapons found alongside the remains of a woolly mammoth. The remains of a <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/woolly-mammoths-extinct/">woolly mammoth</a> found preserved in Siberian permafrost were accompanied by man-made weapons dating back 10,000 years, according to experts from the <a href="https://www.investinregions.ru/en/regions/yakutia/education/">Academy of Sciences of Yakutia</a>. Located on Kotelny Island in the Russian Arctic, the bones and tusks both showed signs of human modifications. 

"Traces of processing, presumably by an ancient man, were found on the tusk fragments," mammoth expert Innokenty Pavlov told the <a href="https://siberiantimes.com/">Siberian Times</a>. "The state of tusk remnants clearly points that the humans sliced it to make implements (and weapons)."

Fragments of ivory had sharp edges that could have been used for hunting, which led the scientists to believe this site was used by ancient humans to carve off slivers of mammoth tusks to make spears and tools. 

Further research may reveal whether the giant animal was killed by the sharpened tusk of a previously hunted mammoth. 

[caption id="attachment_1874440" align="aligncenter" width="650"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/ancient-weapons-2.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1874440" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/ancient-weapons-2.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="350" /></a> Main Image Credit: Innokenty Pavlov/The Siberian Times[/caption]

"We will do radiocarbon dating of the remnants, but for now we can say that the age of the tusk is not less than 10,000 years old," said Pavlov. Ancient man-made weapons found alongside the remains of a woolly mammoth

During the Pleistocene Era, Kotelny Island was connected to the Siberian mainland, and the region is well-known as a burial ground for the extinct woolly mammoth.

According to the researchers, the "Golden mammoth" discovered this summer may be a member of a previously undescribed "mini-mammoth" species that lived during the last ice age. The fully grown specimen measures just seven feet tall, which is less than half the height of a typical woolly mammoth.

The remains of the Golden mammoth are covered in sand and embedded in underwater permafrost, and are only visible at low tide on Kotelny Island. 

[caption id="attachment_1874439" align="aligncenter" width="650"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/ancient-weapons-1.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1874439" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/ancient-weapons-1.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="403" /></a> Image Credit: Vladimir Pitulko[/caption]

In August 2018, Russia announced the launch of a $5.9 million cloning facility to attempt to bring back the woolly mammoth and other extinct species. 

The experts collaborated with the Russian Geographical Society and the Russian Ministry of Defence to organize the expedition. 

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earrh.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Main Image Credit: Innokenty Pavlov/The Siberian Times

Ancient man-made weapons found alongside the remains of a woolly mammoth

Ancient man-made weapons found alongside the remains of a woolly...

For couples trying to have a baby, a good night’s sleep may be key to improving the chances of getting pregnant, according to a new study. 

Researchers from <a href="https://international.au.dk/">Aarhus University</a> in The Netherlands investigated how sleep impacted <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/air-pollution-sperm-production/">sperm quality</a> and discovered that men who go to bed before 10:30 have healthier sperm compared to night owls. 

In fact, going to sleep early correlated with sperm quality that was four times higher compared to sperm collected from men who went to sleep after 11:30. 

Both poor sleep and stress were found to impact sperm quality, and a lack of sleep can increase stress levels, so it’s important for couples hoping to conceive to understand how simple factors like these can impact fertility. 

104 male participants, aged 34 or older, participated in the study, and the researchers tracked sleep patterns and analyzed sperm samples of the participants for two-years. 

The impact that sleep had on sperm quality was significant, and even going to bed at 10:30 verses 11:30 resulted in sperm that was 2.5 times healthier. 

One reason for this could be that lack of sleep could lead to the immune system going into overdrive and attacking healthy sperm, which is why those men who stayed up later had lower quality sperm. 

“The reasons could be psychological as sleep-deprived men suffer more stress and that can have an impact on fertility,” said Hans Jakob Ingerslev, a co-author of the study. “These were men who had been trying to have a baby for about two years, and an early bedtime was likely to be important because it allowed them to get more sleep.”

Going to bed later could also leave less time for couples to have sex. 

Sleeping between seven and a half to eight hours increased the chances of having a baby naturally showing that both sleep duration and bedtime impact sperm quality. 

The researchers presented their findings at the<a href="https://www.eshre.eu/"> European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology</a> (ESHRE) annual conference. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: Shutterstock/Sam Wordley

Poor sleep could lead to male fertility problems

For couples trying to have a baby, a good night’s...

Music programs should be given more of a priority in high school curriculums as a new study has found that music students score higher on math and science exams compared to non-musical students. 

Unfortunately, when budget cuts are necessary, underfunded art and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/listening-classical-music-smarter/">music</a> classes are often first on the chopping block. 

Researchers from the <a href="https://www.ubc.ca/">University of British Columbia</a> discovered that music courses enhance rather than hinder a student’s math and science skills. 

“It is believed that students who spend school time in music classes, rather than in further developing their skills in math, science and English classes, will underperform in those disciplines,” said Peter Gouzouasis, an author of the study. “Our research suggests that, in fact, the more they study music, the better they do in those subjects.”

For the study, the researchers reviewed the school records of more than 112,00 high schoolers in British Columbia. Each student started first grade between 2000 and 2003, completed the last three years of high school, and had taken one or more standardized tests for math, science or English. 

Thirteen percent of all the students included in the study had taken at least one music course such as band or choir in 10th, 11th, or 12th grade. 

Taking a music course seemed to help with test scores as the researchers found consistently higher scores in math, science, and English for those students who had participated in a music class. 

“Students who participated in music, who had higher achievement in music, and who were highly engaged in music had higher exam scores across all subjects…” said Gouzouasis. 

Instrumental music classes like concert band seemed to be more beneficial than choir or vocal jazz classes, the researchers found. 

The team also discovered that playing an instrument for years improved scores so much that students with long histories of music education were a year ahead of their peers academically speaking. 

“On average, the children who learned to play a musical instrument for many years, and were now playing in high school band and orchestra, were the equivalent of about one academic year ahead of their peers with regard to their English, mathematics and science skills, as measured by their exam grades,’ said Gouzouasis. 

Even when the researchers controlled for demographic factors, taking a music class correlated with higher test scores. 

“Learning to play a musical instrument and playing in an ensemble is very demanding. A student has to learn to read music notation, develop eye-hand-mind coordination, develop keen listening skills, develop team skills for playing in an ensemble, and develop discipline to practice. All those learning experiences play a role in enhancing children’s cognitive capacities and their self-efficacy,” said Gouzouasis. 

The researchers published their findings in the Journal of Educational Psychology. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: Shutterstock

Music students score better in highschool math and science

Music programs should be given more of a priority in...

According to the Ovarian Reserve and Exposure to Environmental Pollutants (ORExPo) study, high levels of air <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/air-pollution-walkable-areas/">pollution</a> affect the ovarian reserve, a marker for female fertility based on the number of resting follicles in the ovary.

Researchers working on the ORExPo study took hormone measurements from over 1,300 Italian women between 2007 and 2017. They found that environmental chemicals and natural and artificial factors of everyday diet can disturb the biosynthesis, signalling, or metabolism of hormones. The researchers specifically looked at the anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH), which is secreted by cells in the ovary and is recognized as a reliable marker of ovarian reserve.

These findings were presented at the <a href="https://www.eshre.eu/">Annual Meeting of ESHRE</a> in Italy.

“The influence of age and smoking on AMH serum levels is now largely accepted,” said first author Professor Antonio La Marca from the <a href="http://www.international.unimore.it/">University of Modena and Reggio Emilia</a>, “but a clear effect of environmental factors has not been demonstrated so far.”

Upon taking the measurements of AMH from the approximate 1,300 participants, the data was logged and linked to patients’ age and residence, which could therefore allow researchers to investigate environmental impacts and consider a daily particulate matter (PM) as well as values of nitrogen dioxide (NO2), a polluting gas that is the result of burning fuel.

1,463 AMH measurements collected from 1,318 women showed that serum AMH levels after the age of 25 were inversely related to age, as well as environmental pollutant defined as PM10, PM2,5m and NO2 — an association that was age-independent.

The lowest concentration of AMH, which, as Professor La Marca said, reflects “severe ovarian reserve reduction,” was found in subjects who were exposed to levels of PM10, PM2.5 and NO2 above 29.5, 22, and 26 mcg/m3 respectively — well below the upper limits recommended by the European Union and local authorities.

“By our calculations,” said Professor La Marca, “exposure to high levels of PM10, PM2.5 and NO2 increases the risk of having a severely reduced ovarian reserve by a factor between 2 and 3.”

Although this study confirms that age is a large determinant of AMH concentration, “Living in an area associated with high levels of air pollutants in our study increased the risk of severely reduced ovarian reserve by a factor of 2 or 3,” Professor La Marca confirmed.

--

By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a>

Image Credit: Shutterstock/Fotos593

Air pollution negatively impacts marker of female fertility

According to the Ovarian Reserve and Exposure to Environmental Pollutants...

Composting is a simple way to harness natural processes for the use of agriculture. Fungi, bacteria, even insects all work to break down organic materials such as dung, food scraps, or grass clippings to create nutrient rich soil for growing plants. 

Composting has been practiced for a very long time and it’s specific origins are lost somewhere in the distant past. According to the <a href="https://web.extension.illinois.edu/homecompost/history.cfm">University of Illinois Extension office</a>, clay tablets from the Akkadian Empire in Mesopotamia, dating back a thousand years before the biblical prophet Moses, refer to compost. The ancient Romans and Greeks knew about composting. <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/people-and-culture/food/the-plate/2016/09/compost--a-history-in-green-and-brown/">National Geographic</a> reports that there’s archaeological evidence that Scots were using compost as long as 12,000 years ago, planting directly in the compost itself instead of spreading it on a field. 

According to <a href="http://www.carryoncomposting.com/142941469">Carry on Composting</a>, Cleopatra was reported to have made worms sacred in Egypt after noting their importance in composting, and the famous queen even made it a crime punishable by death to remove worms from Egypt. George Washington instructed his slaves to use compost on his farm.

Beyond the colorful human history of composting, it’s really a natural process utilized by humans with just a bit of tweaking and serves two basic but extremely important purposes – disposing of waste and providing nutrients to important plants (usually in agriculture). Composting is a way to sequester carbon and recycle scraps or other organic ‘trash’ as well. Organic agriculture, especially on small scales, often still relies on composting in one form or another to deliver nutrients to plants. In ancient China, even human waste was used in compost, a practice mostly dismissed by westerners as a health hazard but helped allow the continuous farming of the same soil for as long as <a href="https://capecodecotoiletcenter.com/nutrient-recycling/a-history-of-eco-toilets/">40 centuries</a>. Unfortunately for sustainable agriculture, this practice was largely ended in China, phasing out in the 1980s in favor of more <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/237332785_THE_UTILIZATION_OF_HUMAN_EXCRETA_IN_CHINESE_AGRICULTURE_AND_THE_CHALLENGE_FACED">chemical agriculture</a>. Fish and other dead animals or animal parts (in food scraps) have long been a part of careful composting efforts, and so it was only a matter of time before composting of human bodies was considered. 

For many, the idea of becoming part of the food chain, or returning to earth after death is an attractive option. In Tibet the practice of ‘<a href="https://people.howstuffworks.com/culture-traditions/cultural-traditions/sky-burial1.htm">sky burial’</a> where one is fed to vultures has been practiced for a long time by certain Tibetan Buddhists. I previously <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/natural-burial/">reported</a> on more natural or ‘eco friendly’ burial options. The option of being composted is a relatively new one with obvious potential health risks that must be dealt with responsibly. 

A process similar to composting, called ‘Promession’, is being promoted by <a href="http://www.promessa.se">Promessa</a>, a company that pioneered the process. Promession is basically freeze-drying human remains and then pulverizing them, finally removing any toxins, such as tooth fillings. The end result is a fine powder which can be added to water to create something akin to compost. Now, there is an even more direct route to enter your final rest as rich, life-giving soil.

Washington is the first state in the United States to legalize composting human bodies, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/22/us/washington-human-composting-legal-trnd/index.html">CNN</a> reports. Recently, Governor Jay Inslee signed a bill into a law that will go into effect in May 2020. Until the law takes effect, only burial and cremation are legal means of disposing of human remains in Washington.

<a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-47031816">BBC</a> reports that lying in the open, the decomposition of a body can take months of blistering, bloating and smelling. Under ideal conditions though, a body can decompose in as little as a month. This relatively quick decomposition time allows human remains to be composted and quickly returned as soil instead of slowing the decomposition as much as possible as a traditional burial tends to do. A new method involves using heat-loving bacteria and heating the human remains to a high enough temperature the make the resulting soil safe to handle. The process of composting humans is already set to be a commercial enterprise as soon as the change in law in Washington comes into effect.          

<a href="https://www.recompose.life">Recompose</a> is a new company offering people the option of being composted after death. The method used by recompose is just a modification of a method already used on livestock that are composted. Livestock and humans decompose in a very similar manner, the largest problem is the greater risk of disease transmission from the remains of humans compared to other animals. The method is said to use 1/8 of the energy used for traditional cremation and save 1 metric ton of carbon compared with other methods of burial, making the method more desirable than cremation which merely saves land space used in burials. Financial cost is also a factor for most when it comes to funerary rites. 

<a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-47031816">BBC</a> reports that the median cost for burial and funeral services in the US is over $7,000, with cremation being much more reasonable with an average cost of around $1,100. With Recompose being a small company as of yet, it’s unclear how affordable the cost of being composted will be for the average consumer. One thing to consider though is the value to the loved ones of the deceased. The end result of composting, a process that also adds other organic material, such as wood chips is about two wheel barrow loads of soil. 

Soil from a composted loved one is valuable, not just for gardening. The soil is also a way for the deceased to nourish not only plants but by proxy, their living family members. This idea may be disturbing, akin to cannibalism to some, but considering the true nature of cycles of energy and nutrition, it’s something we probably already participate in. Like it or not, the dead feed everything we eat and sometimes, there may even be remnants of a dead person. For me, embracing this cycle and finding nourishment from a dead loved one is empowering, a way to reflect on our own mortality and the value of life.         

--

By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a>

Image Credit: Shutterstock

New company offers option to compost human bodies after death

Composting is a simple way to harness natural processes for...

Researchers at the University College London‘s <a href="https://www.timeuse.org/">Centre for Time Use Research</a> have found that, even though it may seem that the pace of life is speeding up alongside <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/electronic-waste-environmental-disaster/">technology</a>, this is surprisingly not the case. According to the study, people are actually working less and sleeping more today compared to 50 years ago. 

Professors Jonathan Gershuny and Oriel Sullivan used data from a British survey of 8,000 participants who recorded their activities at 10-minute intervals for two days. The experts compared these 16,000 "diary days" to time diaries dating back as far as 1961.

The study revealed that the total amount of time that people spend on work, whether paid or unpaid, has decreased over the past five decades. This is particularly the case for working-age men, who did an average of 9.5 hours of daily work in 1961 compared to an average of 8 hours today. 

Women, who now work more total time than men when considering both paid and unpaid jobs, only experienced a slight drop of 17 minutes from 1961 to present-day. While men today do more unpaid work such as childcare, gardening, and housework, women are still doing twice the amount of unpaid work while also holding down more paid jobs. 

In 1961, men and women had about the same amount of daily leisure time. Now, however, men have an average of 40 more leisurely moments than women each day.

"It seems to have leveled off," wrote Professor Sullivan. "Gender attitudes are changing in the acceptance of greater equality, but, for instance, when parental leave is available very few men take it up...And women still seem to be considered - and consider themselves - 'responsible' for the household chores."

The team also found that both men and women are getting more sleep, with an average 8 hours and 30 minutes by 2015. "The question to ask is why is it that there’s this perception that sleep has decreased?" wrote the study authors. "It’s one of these things where you have an expectation: 'A 24/7 society means you sleep less.'"

Gershuny and Sullivan concluded that the idea of life speeding up "may actually be more of a 'folk narrative' about rapid changes in society than a real experience of our daily lives." Their book What We Really Do All Day, Insights from the Centre For Time Use Research will be released on June 27.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Shutterstock/Estrada Anton

The idea that people are busier than ever is surprisingly untrue

Researchers at the University College London‘s Centre for Time Use...

We’ve known that exercise can <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/morning-exercise-improve-blood-pressure/">improve heart health</a>, reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, and even lower the risk of some cancers. But how much does simply increasing our walking activity benefit our health in the long run?

To help remedy this gap and better understand the long-term impacts of walking for adults and older adults on health and well-being, researchers at <a href="https://www.sgu.edu/">St. George's University</a> conducted two randomized walking trials.  

The first trial was called PACE-UP and involved 1,001 participants from London ages 45 to 75. The second trial was called PACE-Lift and included 296 individuals from the UK aged 60 to 75. 

Both groups were asked to complete a 12-week walking intervention with pedometers. The short-term walking programs were meant to increase step count and physical activity for the participants. 

The researchers collected data from primary caregivers and followed up with the participants three and four years later to see if there were any lasting benefits to the walking interventions. 

After following up with the participants, the researchers found that there were sustained increases in physical activity at three and four years later and a decrease in cardiovascular events. 

The participants that completed the walking interventions were also less likely to have suffered a fracture in the follow-up period compared to participants who hadn’t been part of the walking intervention. 

Walking didn’t have an impact on diabetes risk or depression, but the study shows that even short-term pedometer walking helps increase physical activity and lowers the risk of heart attack or stroke. 

The study results were published in the journal <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1002836">PLOS Medicine</a>. 

“Short-term primary care pedometer-based walking interventions can produce long-term health benefits and should be more widely used to help address the public health inactivity challenge,” the researchers conclude. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>,<a href="https://www.earth.com/"> Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: Shutterstock/Uraiwons

Walking more has long-term health benefits, too

We’ve known that exercise can improve heart health, reduce the...

<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.



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Is chocolate the next nutritional powerhouse?

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

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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

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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

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

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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

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