A massive new analysis suggests Americans don’t just differ in what they earn or how long they live - they also differ in how they experience wellness. 



Drawing on more than 325,000 survey responses collected over eight years, researchers found clear regional differences in wellness.



People in the Northeastern and Midwestern regions tend to score higher on “traditional” wellness, which includes <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fitness-focused-medicine-physical-activity-reduces-chronic-disease-risk/">physical health,</a> finances, and social support.



Many Southern regions, by contrast, rank higher on “existential” wellness, such as purpose, meaning, and a strong sense of community identity. The pattern lines up with centuries-old settlement histories that still shape local norms today.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-measuring-wellness-two-ways">Measuring wellness two ways</h2>



The team worked with data from the <a href="https://news.gallup.com/topic/well-being-index.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index</a> spanning 2009–2016 and grouped responses into two broader composites.



“Traditional” wellness bundles tangible aspects of life - physical and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mental-health-crisis-half-of-the-worlds-population-will-be-affected-by-age-75/">mental health</a>, financial security, and day-to-day social support. 



“Existential” wellness captures the less tangible side - purpose, personal growth, community belonging, and living in line with one’s values.



Separating the two helps explain why some places thrive on paper (jobs, hospitals, income) yet still report a thinner sense of meaning - or the reverse.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-an-old-map-explains-modern-feelings"><a></a>An old map explains modern feelings</h2>



To test whether regional culture matters in wellness, the researchers turned to the American Nations Model. 



This framework divides the U.S. into historical “nations” based on who settled there first. Think Yankeedom, the Deep South, Greater Appalachia, El Norte, and others.



Each region inherited durable folkways about trust, autonomy, community, and authority. Even after accounting for education and income, these cultural footprints predicted distinctive wellness profiles where people live.



The headline split was clear. Northeastern and Midwestern regions, including Yankeedom, leaned higher on traditional wellness. 



Several Southern and frontier-legacy regions - such as the Deep South, Greater Appalachia, El Norte, and parts of the Far West - leaned higher on existential wellness.



In other words, the balance of “health and money” versus “purpose and belonging” shifts in systematic ways across the cultural map.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-wellness-differences-stand-out">Wellness differences stand out</h2>



Statistically, the contrasts weren’t subtle. In within-region comparisons, traditional wellness significantly exceeded existential wellness in Yankeedom.



Existential wellness was higher in the Deep South and especially Greater Appalachia - the largest reversal in the set.



Several other regions showed smaller or no gaps, demonstrating that not every place fits a single mold.



These effects held in mixed-effects models that controlled for <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/why-education-matters-for-healthy-aging-and-longevity/">education</a> and income and accounted for clustering within metropolitan areas.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/existential-wellness_american-nations-settlements_PLOS-One_1m.jpg"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/existential-wellness_american-nations-settlements_PLOS-One_1s.webp" alt="Wellbeing across the American Nations: First Settler Effects influence traditional and existential wellness. Credit: David R. Samson, Nathan Oesch, Colin Woodard" class="wp-image-1985865"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Wellbeing across the American Nations: First Settler Effects influence traditional and existential wellness. Click image to enlarge. Credit: David R. Samson, Nathan Oesch, Colin Woodard</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-culture-race-and-wellness">Culture, race, and wellness</h2>



The study also looked at Black and Hispanic residents across regions. Patterns generally echoed the broader map. 



Black and Hispanic respondents tended to show higher traditional wellness in Northeastern and Midwestern regions. They also reported higher existential wellness in Southern regions.



Notably, Black respondents showed consistently lower traditional wellness than white respondents across regions. In the Northeast and Midwest, they also fared worse on existential wellness. 



Together, these patterns suggest that material constraints and structural disparities remain powerful drivers.



At the same time, the relatively stronger existential scores in many Southern contexts may reflect the buffering role of community networks and cultural identity.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cultural-roots-of-wellness">Cultural roots of wellness</h2>



Culture shapes where institutions flourish (hospitals, schools, civic groups), how people relate to one another (trust, norms of reciprocity), and what counts as a good life (autonomy vs. solidarity, achievement vs. belonging).



Those long-running preferences influence migration, policy choices, and investments that, over time, help set the table for different “flavors” of well-being.



The authors found the pattern persisted even after adjusting for education and income, and they reported model checks to reduce issues like multicollinearity among predictors.



That suggests the American Nations framework isn’t just a clever historical story - it adds real explanatory power to why wellness feels different in different parts of the country.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-wellness-policy-must-fit-culture">Wellness policy must fit culture</h2>



If you want to boost <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/simply-looking-at-art-can-improve-your-well-being/">well-being</a>, focusing only on income or clinics may miss what makes people feel whole in a given place.



In regions that already score high on traditional metrics, investing in community identity, public spaces, and opportunities for contribution might move the needle on meaning and purpose.



In places rich in existential wellness but poorer on traditional metrics, policies that improve access to preventive care, stable work, and safety nets could pay outsized dividends.



Put simply, the study argues that wellness strategies work best when they respect the cultural ecologies where people live - strengthening what’s already strong while shoring up what’s thin.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-limits-and-a-next-step"><a></a>Limits - and a next step</h2>



This is an observational study using self-reported survey data; it can’t prove cause and effect. The American Nations borders blur in real life, people move, and city-level differences within regions can be large.



Still, with more than 325,000 respondents across 110 metro areas and eight years of data, the signal is hard to ignore. 



The authors call for digging into mechanisms: Which specific institutions or community practices best translate cultural inheritance into day-to-day well-being? 



And which levers - health infrastructure, schooling, neighborhood design, civic organizations - offer the highest return in each region?



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-place-and-culture-shape-wellness">Place and culture shape wellness</h2>



Where you live doesn’t just shape your paycheck and your hospital bill. It also shapes how you experience a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/creativity-improves-life-satisfaction-and-overall-well-being/">good life</a> - whether that’s feeling financially secure and physically well, or feeling rooted in purpose and community.



The United States’ oldest settlement patterns still echo in those experiences today. 



They remind policymakers that the most effective pathways to human flourishing may look different from Boston to Birmingham to El Paso.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0327972" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">PLOS One</a>.



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Wellness in America depends on culture and where you live

A massive new analysis suggests Americans don’t just differ in what they earn or how long they live - they also differ in how they experience wellness. Drawing on more than 325,000 survey responses collected over eight years, researchers found clear regional differences in wellness. People in the Northeastern and Midwestern regions tend to score higher on “traditional” wellness, which includes physical health, finances, and social support. Many Southern regions, by contrast, rank higher on “existential” wellness, such as purpose, meaning, and a strong sense of community...

A multi-year research project conducted across six countries has shown that atheistic and agnostic beliefs are different depending on the country and that many agnostics and atheists still reportedly believe in the supernatural or the underlying forces of good and evil. 

Researchers from the <a href="https://www.stmarytx.edu/">St. Mary’s University</a>, <a href="https://www.kent.ac.uk/">University of Kent</a>, <a href="https://www.coventry.ac.uk/">Coventry University</a>, and <a href="https://www.qub.ac.uk/">Queen’s University Belfast</a> surveyed people from Brazil, China, Denmark, Japan, the UK, and the US to better understand how a person’s “unbelief” shapes religious identity and what unbelief looks like outside of western countries. 

The researchers recently released their findings in a report called the <a href="https://research.kent.ac.uk/understandingunbelief/wp-content/uploads/sites/45/2019/05/UUReportRome.pdf">“Understanding Unbelief: Atheists and agnostics around the world.” </a>

What the report shows is that atheism looks very different from country to country.

“Atheists...and agnostics...exhibit significant diversity both within, and between, different countries,” the researchers wrote. “Accordingly, there are very many ways of being an unbeliever.” 

Even within the communities of unbelievers, the researchers found that many reportedly still identified as Christian or Buddhist or believed in supernatural forces. 

“Unbelief in God doesn’t necessarily entail unbelief in other supernatural phenomena. Atheists and (less so) agnostics exhibit lower levels of supernatural belief than do the wider populations,” the researchers wrote. 

In the US, 20 percent of people reported believing in the supernatural while in China, 50 percent of self-identified atheists said they believed in the “underlying forces of good and evil.” 

The study also shows that even self-identifying atheists are not <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/religious-prayer-trouble/">wholly confident in their unbelief. </a>

When asked to agree or disagree with the statement, “the universe is ultimately meaningless,” Brazil had the highest number of atheists/agnostics who agreed with the statement, but no country had a majority of 50 percent or more who ultimately agreed with the sentiment.

“First, in no country surveyed does the proportion of either unbelievers, or the general population, affirming a meaningless universe reach 50%,” the researchers wrote. 

Atheists and agnostics from Japan were the least likely to believe in supernatural forces. 

The report also puts to rest the notion that unbelievers have low moral values and don’t place the same importance on family, nature, or fundamental rights as the general population. 

The surveys showed that most atheists and agnostics value’s lined up with the general population and that family, nature, justice, and compassion were some of the highest rated values. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: Shutterstock

Many atheists and agnostics admit they still believe in the supernatural

A multi-year research project conducted across six countries has shown...

Researchers and military members sometimes must travel to extreme and hostile environments like Antarctica and it’s important to ensure that if an emergency or accident happens, medical supplies will be easily accessible and effective. 

A new study has found that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/anesthesia-weaken-traumatic-memories/">anesthetic drugs</a> are not degraded or impacted by the freezing conditions found in Antarctica. Even when the drugs were left outside with little protection from the elements, testing showed that the drugs were safe to use. 

The research was conducted by Major Ricardo Navarro-Suay from the <a href="http://www.comunidad.madrid/centros/hospital-central-defensa-gomez-ulla">Hospital Central de la Defensa “Gómez Ulla”</a> in Spain and presented at the annual meeting of the <a href="https://www.esahq.org/">European Society of Anaesthesiology</a>. 

Doctors and Anaesthetists need to be sure that their medical supplies are not affected or altered by environmental factors even in extreme environments, as this could endanger a patient’s safety or make treatment difficult. 

For this study, the researchers exposed fentanyl citrate, etomidate, rocuronium bromide, and suxamethonium chloride, all of which are common anesthetics, to Antarctic weather conditions. 

The researchers placed vials of the drugs in a clear plastic bag and left the bags outside for 72 hours on Deception Island in Antarctica. 

Daily weather measurements were recorded, and the researchers examined the vials 24 hours, 48 hours, and 72 hours after they were placed outside to look for any signs of damage. 

After the experiment, the researchers analyzed the drugs using high-resolution liquid chromatography. 

All four of the drugs were still safe to use and were within the 99-110 percent margins of security. 

The researchers say that the extreme cold may have even benefitted the chemical makeup of the drugs.  

“Sometimes a drug can be changed or improved with weather conditions, like light or cold. The drug administration security interval is from 95 to 110% so these results show we could employ these drugs safely to patients under the extreme conditions like the polar weather found in Antarctica,” said Navarro-Suay. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: Shutterstock

Anesthetic drugs still work in extreme environments like Antarctica

Researchers and military members sometimes must travel to extreme and...

Although many adults strive to hit 10,000 steps per day, a new study from <a href="https://www.brighamandwomens.org/">Brigham and Women's Hospital</a> has found that <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/social-support-lower-risk-death/">older women</a> require fewer steps to maintain a healthy lifestyle. 

By analyzing four-years’ worth of data collected from the Women's Health Study, researchers found that those who took as few as 4,400 steps per day had a lower risk of death than those who only reached 2,700 steps per day.

Furthermore, risk of death decreased with more steps taken per day, but leveled off at around 7,500 steps per day — much less than the 10,000 steps many wearable step-monitoring devices encourage. These findings are published in <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine">JAMA Internal Medicine</a>.

"Taking 10,000 steps a day can sound daunting. But we find that even a modest increase in steps taken is tied to significantly lower mortality in older women," said I-Min Lee, MBBS, ScD, an epidemiologist in the <a href="https://www.brighamandwomens.org/research/departments/preventive-medicine/division-of-preventive-medicine">Division of Preventive Medicine at Brigham</a>. "Our study adds to a growing understanding of the importance of physical activity for health, clarifies the number of steps related to lower mortality and amplifies the message: Step more — even a little more is helpful."

Lee and colleagues studied participants of the Women’s Health Study, originally conducted to evaluate risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer among women taking low-dose aspirin and vitamin E. After the initial study was completed, the participants were asked to participate in a long-term study regarding steps and health. 16,741 women averagely aged 72 agreed to wear an ActiGraph GT3X+ accelerometer device on their hips for seven straight days during all waking hours.

During the 4-year study period, 504 of the participants died. Those who were in the bottom 25% of steps walked per day (2,700 steps or less) had the greatest risk of death, and 275 women in this percentile died. Those who took 4,400 steps or more per day had a 41% lower risk of death. And those who walked more had an even lesser risk of death, with the correlation levelling out at around 7,500 steps per day.

The team notes that this study has not identified a cause for the correlation, and is simply observational. They also note that the women involved in the study were primarily white and older, therefore further studies must be completed to diversify the findings.

“Of course, no single study stands alone. But our work continues to make the case for the importance of physical activity," Lee said. "Clearly, even a modest number of steps was related to lower mortality rate among these older women. We hope these findings provide encouragement for individuals for whom 10,000 steps a day may seem unattainable."

--

By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Shutterstock/David Pereiras

Older women require fewer steps per day to maintain lower mortality rates

Although many adults strive to hit 10,000 steps per day,...

Violent video games may make kids more comfortable handling guns. A team of researchers designed an experiment to investigate how exposure to weapons in video games may influence the behavior of children when they find a real <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/kids-difference-toy-gun/">gun</a>.

Children between the ages of 8 and 12 were assigned to 1 of 3 versions of the popular video game Minecraft. The first was violent with guns used to kill monsters, the second was violent with swords used to kill monsters, and the third version was nonviolent with no weapons or monsters.Violent video games may make kids more comfortable handling guns

Next, the children played with other toys in a room that also contained two disabled handguns in a cabinet. The investigation was focused on 220 children who found one of the guns while playing. 

The study revealed that 62 percent of the children who played the Minecraft game with gun violence touched one of the handguns, 57 percent of the children who played the game with sword violence touched a gun, and about 44 percent of the children who played the nonviolent version touched a gun.

While these differences were not very significant, children exposed to violent versions of the video game were also found to be more likely to engage in the dangerous behavior of pointing the gun and pulling the trigger either at themselves or at another child.

The researchers acknowledged that the study was limited by the artificial setting of a university laboratory. In addition, Minecraft is not a typical violent game with blood and gore because the team could not ethically expose children to an age-inappropriate game.

The study authors encourage gun owners to secure their firearms and reduce children's exposure to violent video games.

The research is published in the journal <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen">JAMA Network Open</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a>

Image Credit: Shutterstock

Violent video games may make kids more comfortable handling guns

Violent video games may make kids more comfortable handling guns....

The DNA of 41 human skeletons dating back thousands of years is helping researchers piece together the transition from foraging to farming and herding in Africa. 

An international team of archeologists, geneticists, and museum curators analyzed ancient DNA to help pinpoint the origins of farming and herding in East Africa. 

The team, led by researchers from <a href="http://www.slu.edu/">Saint Louis University</a>, detailed their findings in a new study published in the journal Science. 

Herding livestock as a form of food production first spread through Kenya and Tanzania 5,000 years ago and later <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/east-africas-hunter-gatherers-ancestry/">foragers in East Africa</a> interacted and mixed with herders. 

But exactly how and when these populations came together was unknown. 

“The origins of food producers in East Africa have remained elusive because of gaps in the archaeological record,” said Mary Prendergast, a co-first author of the study. “This study uses DNA to answer previously unresolvable questions about how people were moving and interacting.”

The DNA analyses showed that between 4,500 and 3,500 years ago, foragers in East Africa interacted with herders and herding livestock quickly spread through the region. 

After 3,500 years ago though, the two groups split off again and became genetically isolated although still living in the same areas next to each other. This suggests that after a brief interlude of co-mingling, the two groups had strict social barriers in place. 

It wasn’t until 1,200 years ago that the researchers found evidence of another major genetic shift when migrations of people from northeastern and western Africa spread into East Africa, bringing with them farming and iron-working. 

“Today, East Africa is one of the most genetically, linguistically, and culturally diverse places in the world,” said Elizabeth Sawchuk, a co-first author of the study. “Our findings trace the roots of this mosaic back several millennia. Distinct peoples have coexisted in the Rift Valley for a very long time.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com </a>Staff Writer 

Image Credit: Katherine Grillo

DNA sheds light on the story of first farmers and herders in East Africa

The DNA of 41 human skeletons dating back thousands of...

Researchers from the <a href="https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/">Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health</a> have found that <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/tinder-dating-apps-sex-partners/">dating app</a> usage may be linked to an increased risk of unhealthy weight control practices such as vomiting and diet pill and/or laxative usage. 

Their findings are published in the <a href="https://jeatdisord.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40337-019-0244-4">Journal of Eating Disorders</a>.

"To our knowledge, our study is one of the first to explore dating app use in association with unhealthy weight control behaviors,” said study leader Dr. Alvin Tran. “When comparing those who do not use dating apps to those who do, we found that dating app users had significantly elevated odds of engaging in the six unhealthy weight control behaviors we investigated: vomiting for weight control, using laxatives for weight control, fasting for weight control, using diet pills, using muscle-building supplements, and using anabolic steroids."

To come to their conclusion, the research team analyzed data from 1,726 U.S. adults enrolled in the Harvard Chan Physical Activity study. These participants had completed an online survey that asked them about their dating app usage within the past 30 days. It also asked them about the above-listed six unhealthy weight control behaviors (UWCBs) used within the last 12 months.

Out of the 1,726 adults surveyed, 183 women and 209 men used dating apps. In comparison to non-users, women showed 2.3 to 26.9 times higher odds of engaging in UWCBs, and men showed 3.2 to 14.6 times higher odds than their non-user peers. The most common UWCBs seen in both men and women were fasting, vomiting and laxative use.

"Consistent with previous research, we also found elevated rates of UWCBs in racial/ethnic minorities, particularly African Americans,” Dr. Tran added. “We did not, however, find elevated odds of UWCBs based on sexual orientation."

Dr. Tran notes that the study’s cross-sectional nature does not allow for conclusions about cause and effect. It is simply an observation.

"While we do not know if the people in our study were already engaging in these weight control behaviors before using dating apps, we worry that the use of these image-and appearance-focused services could exacerbate those behaviors,” he stated. “With the tremendous growth in dating app usage in the U.S., and an increasing number of studies linking their use to body image concerns and UWCBs, there is a need to further understand how dating apps influence health behaviors and outcomes."

--

By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Shutterstock

Dating app users are more likely to utilize unhealthy weight control methods

Researchers from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health...

Many people believe learning styles are inherited, despite lack of proof. According to a new study published by the <a href="https://www.apa.org/">American Psychological Association</a>, many educators and <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/educating-kids-climate-change/">parents</a> believe that learning styles are inherited from birth and predict academic success. These "essentialist" beliefs are strongly held by some people, despite the fact there is no scientific evidence to back them up. 

Out of 668 study participants, 90 percent agreed that students have a predominant learning style that works best for them, whether it is visual, auditory, or tactile. However, the individuals were evenly divided on their opinions of how these favored learning styles emerge. Besides the "essentialist" group, there was a "non-essentialist" group which held more flexible beliefs about learning styles.

"We found that some people are more likely to believe that students inherit their learning style from their parents and that learning styles affect brain function," said study lead author Dr. Shaylene Nancekivell. "We also found that educators who work with younger children are more likely to hold this essentialist view. Many parents and educators may be wasting time and money on products, services and teaching methods that are geared toward learning styles."Many people believe learning styles are inherited, despite lack of proof

The essentialist group members were more likely to state that learning styles are hereditary, do not change with age, mark distinct kinds of people, and predict both academic and career success. On the other hand, the non-essentialist group primarily viewed learning styles as being malleable and influenced by environmental factors. 

Dr. Nancekivell explained that people with essentialist opinions about learning styles may be more resistant to changing their strongly held views even when they learn that numerous studies have debunked the concept of learning styles. However, previous research has shown that the learning styles model can undermine education in many ways. For example, educators often dedicate time and money to adapt lessons for certain learning styles, yet all students can benefit from learning through various methods. 

"My biggest concern is that time is being spent teaching young children maladaptive strategies for learning," said Dr. Nancekivell. "It is important that children from a very young age are taught with the best practices so they will succeed."

"It seems likely that the appeal of the learning styles myth rests in its fit with the way people like to think about behavior. People prefer brain-based accounts of behavior, and they like to categorize people into types. Learning styles allow people to do both of those things."

The study is published in the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/20448279">Journal of Educational Psychology</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

Many people believe learning styles are inherited, despite lack of proof

Many people believe learning styles are inherited, despite lack of...

The myth of an 'unpeopled' jungle. When Europeans colonized new lands, they often did so by ignoring the rights of the people already living there. Ideas of manifest destiny, and the notion that Europeans had not only the right but were destined to inhabit foreign lands, were used to promote colonization of the Americas.  Along with the explicit idea of manifest destiny was the implicit idea that much of the land in the Americas went unused. 

This idea is still widely accepted and even promoted by national parks and other institutions promoting wilderness preservation as divorced from human use.  This concept only holds up if prior to European occupation, the wild places of the Americas were mostly uninhabited and unused. An alternative notion is that these places were used in ways that left less scars obvious to European colonists by peoples with longer and deeper histories with American landscapes.  The method of denying the second possibility is usually simply to ignore it. 

It was easy for European conquistadors and colonists to ignore the Native American population densities because they often never encountered them.  Despite the violent conflicts between Europeans and Native peoples, the majority of Native Americans were killed indirectly by European disease rather than by bullets or knives.  

<a href="https://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/12/111205-native-americans-europeans-population-dna-genetics-science/">National Geographic</a> reported in 2011 on genetic research that shows Native American populations at their all time lows only a few years after the arrival of Columbus.  Toribio de Benavente, a Franciscan missionary to Mexico, reported that smallpox killed over half the Native American population in most areas. After instances like these, the Americas were relatively uninhabited, because most of the original inhabitants were killed, leaving the land open to be stolen by colonists.  Many of the later colonists seemed to believe the lie of an uninhabited land, thinking little of the mark left behind by the Native Americans. 

The Amazon basin of South America is a place that’s hard to imagine inhabited by large human populations, but that’s what conquistador Francisco de Orellana saw when he was the first European to descend the Amazon River.  Yale’s <a href="https://globalforestatlas.yale.edu/amazon/land-use/history-amazon-settlement">Global Forest Atlas</a> reports that Orellana claimed to see numerous advanced tribes along the banks of the river, already in decline from European diseases.  

Orellana’s reports were for a long time thought to be fantasy.  This might have been partly because Orellana also reported being attacked by (female) Amazon warriors with elaborate hairstyles.  Mainly though, it seems that Europeans were incapable of imagining groups of people colonizing in large densities land that Europeans themselves found inhospitable. Ideas of ‘green hell’ and ‘green paradise’ come from the paradox of tropical forests – places where the ignorant can easily starve but where the well-versed find an abundance.

Despite skepticism from many quarters, mainly those of anthropologists, Orellana’s claims only fueled the search for an El Dorado, a mythical, wealthy, and lost city in the jungle.  The Spanish conquistadors wanted to find such a city and raid it for gold and other resources, enslaving the inhabitants, much like they did throughout what is now Latin America. 

Others that followed, like <a href="https://www.history.com/news/explorer-percy-fawcett-disappears-in-the-amazon">Colonel Percy Fawcett</a>, were more interested in proving pet anthropology theories and a desire for discovery.  Fawcett himself was experienced in exploration of the Amazon region, spending years surveying for maps in South America, and well versed with encountering Native peoples.  Fawcett was known for bravery in the face of hostility by Natives, never returning it with attacks of his own. It was these experiences that lead Fawcett to the belief that a city could be supported and probably was hidden somewhere in the vast Amazon region.  Eventually, Fawcett disappeared in the jungle in 1925 before making good on his discovery and his final fate is unknown to this day. Despite Fawcett’s disappearance and the lack of Orellana’s credibility, it turns out both men were right about one thing – far from being inhospitable, the Amazon rainforest once supported humans in higher densities than most would find credible.

Research from the early 2000s showed that there was more obvious signs of large scale development in the Amazon region visible from the air than had ever been previously reported.  A <a href="https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/f84a/be8e9f3b7e00fb1ce4467871807f2e72bd24.pdf">paper</a> from the <a href="https://www.upenn.edu/">University of Pennsylvania</a> describes the remains of elaborate weirs used for large scale fish farming.  A 2017 report in <a href="https://www.nature.com/news/amazon-rainforest-was-shaped-by-an-ancient-hunger-for-fruits-and-nuts-1.21576">Nature</a> shows that in the Amazon region, domesticated trees and palms are five times more likely to be over represented than wild trees.  

In the end, the research showed that this distribution of useful plants was caused by a mix of factors.  20% of the domesticated tree distribution seems to be directly from human influence. In the southwestern region of the Amazon, an area with larger pre columbian populations, 30% of the domesticated trees were due to human activity.  These two things together show that humans played a dynamic and active role in the Amazon region.

As <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/millions-lived-in-amazon-uninhabited/">we reported</a> in March 2018, archaeologists found 81 ancient settlements in the Amazon.  The discovery was first made not by an archaeologist wielding a machete through dense jungle, but by a retired financial planner browsing free online satellite images.  The images were confirmed by scientists on the ground to be large earthworks, the remains of what appear to be part of extensive agricultural communities. This discovery suggests that as many as a million people may have occupied the Amazon region before 1500 and the arrival of European disease.

This all fits nicely with new research <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/early-human-settlements-amazonia/">we reported</a> on last month that shows signs of people living in southwestern Amazon long before the development of complex societies.  Hunter gatherers were living in the region and making fires the remains of which are dated to 10,000-4,000 years old. It appears that far from being a green wasteland, the Amazon region has long supported people and even the development of complex societies.  

With the staggering beauty and biodiversity left behind after the collapse of societies in the Amazon, many questions are raised.  As we rush against our own destructive tendencies to create sustainable cities to live in, perhaps the answer has been hiding in the green maze of the Amazon this whole time.                                      

--

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/Gustavo Frazao

The myth of an 'unpeopled' jungle

The myth of an 'unpeopled' jungle. When Europeans colonized new...

Highly-processed foods like sugary sodas, cereals, dehydrated soups, and packaged baked goods are said to make up 25 to 60 percent of daily energy intake in many countries.

Eating a high amount of processed foods has been linked to an increased risk of obesity, metabolic disorders, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/cancer-poor-diets/">cancers</a>, and heart problems, but finding conclusive evidence of the health risks associated with processed foods has been challenging. 

But two recent studies published in the journal BMJ help to further prove the potential associated health risks and shows that the consumption of highly-processed foods increases the risk of cardiovascular disease and death. 

The first study was conducted by researchers from France and Brazil who reviewed data from the <a href="https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03335644">NutriNet-Santé study</a>.

105,109 adults in France, aged 43 on average, took part in the NutriNet-Santé study and were asked to complete six 24-hour dietary questionnaires reporting what they ate. 

Foods were categorized according to how processed they were, and participants were followed up ten years later, which allowed the researchers to investigate possible links between highly processed foods and cardiovascular disease.

A 10 percent increase in consumption of ultra-processed foods was linked to higher rates of cardiovascular disease, heart disease, and cerebrovascular disease. 

Participants that reported eating minimally processed foods and more fresh foods had lower risks of disease. 

For the second study, researchers from Spain reviewed and analyzed data from 19,899 Spanish university graduates who had completed a 136-item dietary questionnaire. Researchers examined the link between highly-processed foods and risk of death. 

A ten-year follow up of the students showed mortality rates, and the researchers found that eating more than four servings of highly-processed foods per day was linked to a 62 percent increase in death or all-cause mortality. 

Each additional serving of highly-processed food increased mortality risk by 18 percent. 

The studies are observational, and so no definite conclusions can be drawn, but the research adds to a growing body of evidence showing that highly-processed foods have a negative impact on health and wellbeing and can increase the risk of early death. 

“Policy makers should shift their priorities away from food reformulation—which risks positioning ultra-processed food as a solution to dietary problems—towards a greater emphasis on promoting the availability, affordability, and accessibility of unprocessed or minimally processed foods,” stated Australian researchers in a <a href="http://www.bmj.com/content/365/bmj.l2289">companion editorial to the studie</a>s.

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com </a>Staff Writer 

Image Credit: J2R/Shutterstock

Highly-processed foods linked to a variety of increased health risks

Highly-processed foods like sugary sodas, cereals, dehydrated soups, and packaged...

Some men make themselves less fertile while trying to look more attractive. In an ironic twist, some men are compromising their fertility by going to harmful extremes to attract mates. This phenomenon is referred to as the Mossman-Pacey paradox, named for the scientists who first discovered it.

Dr. James Mossman, who is now at <a href="https://www.brown.edu/">Brown University</a>, was studying for his doctorate in Sheffield when he turned his attention to steroid abuse. 

"I noticed some men coming in to have their fertility tested and these guys were huge," Dr. Mossman told the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/">BBC</a>. "They are trying to look really big, to look like the pinnacles of evolution. But they are making themselves very unfit in an evolutionary sense, because without exception they had no sperm in their ejaculation at all."Some men make themselves less fertile while trying to look more attractive

Anabolic steroids are commonly used by bodybuilders to enhance <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/whole-eggs-egg-whites/">muscle growth</a>. These drugs are synthetic variations of the male hormone testosterone. The steroids cause the brain's pituitary gland to stop producing two hormones that are critical for yielding sperm.

"Isn't it ironic that men go to the gym to look wonderful, for the most part to attract women, and inadvertently decrease their fertility," said Professor Allan Pacey from the <a href="https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/">University of Sheffield</a>.

According to the researchers, treatments intended to prevent baldness can also be damaging to male fertility. The drug finasteride affects the way that the body metabolizes testosterone, and side effects include erectile dysfunction. Although it is not thought to permanently impact fertility,  finasteride is known to lower sperm counts and sperm motility while it is being taken.

"I would say more anabolic steroid users are likely to become sterile than you would think - 90% probably," Professor Pacey told the BBC. "Baldness is a bit more hit-and-miss, but sales are going through the roof and that makes it an increasingly common problem."

--

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/Lebedev Roman Olegovich

Some men make themselves less fertile while trying to look more attractive

Some men make themselves less fertile while trying to look...

A new study from an international team assembled at the <a href="https://www.shh.mpg.de/en">Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History</a> theorizes that ancient humans may have been able to migrate through the mountains and deserts of Central and Northern Asia under wetter conditions. 

This new research is published in <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0216433">PLOS One</a>.

Archaeologists and paleontologists have previously focused their attention on a “southern” route, surmising that our Homo sapien ancestors may have traveled around the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/fish-unintentionally-caught-indian-ocean/">Indian Ocean</a> to migrate into Eurasia during the Late Pleistocene era about 125,000 to 12,000 years ago. 

However, scientists from the Max Planck Institute and researchers from the <a href="http://english.ivpp.cas.cn/">Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology</a> believe that climate change could have actually made Northern and Central Asia a prime migration route and region for hominin dispersal, interaction, and adaptation.

"Archaeological discussions of the migration routes of Pleistocene Homo sapiens have often focused on a 'coastal' route from Africa to Australia, skirting around India and Southeast Asia," said co-author Professor Michael Petraglia of the Max Planck Institute. "In the context of northern Asia, a route into Siberia has been preferred, avoiding deserts such as the Gobi." 

New evidence has shown that currently-uninhabitable regions like the Gobi were most likely habitable during the Pleistocene era. 

"Our previous work in Saudi Arabia, and work in the Thar Desert of India, has been key in highlighting that survey work in previously neglected regions can yield new insights into human routes and adaptations,” Petraglia continued.

[caption id="attachment_1873264" align="aligncenter" width="650"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/dispersal-routes.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1873264" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/dispersal-routes.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="375" /></a> Illustrated dispersal routes from the results of the Least Cost Path analysis, Image Credit: Nils Vanwezer and Hans Sell[/caption]

The main issue has been dating these previous bits of evidence to see if they potentially line up with the Homo sapien migration into Asia. So, the team wanted to finally nail down the dates.

"We factored in climate records and geographical features into GIS models for glacials (periods during which the polar ice caps were at their greatest extent) and interstadials (periods during the retreat of these ice caps) to test whether the direction of past human movement would vary, based on the presence of these environmental barriers," said joint lead-author Nils Vanwezer, PhD student at the Max Planck Institute. “We found that while during 'glacial' conditions humans would indeed likely have been forced to travel via a northern arc through southern Siberia, during wetter conditions a number of alternative pathways would have been possible, including across a 'green' Gobi Desert.”

Thus, migration across the treacherous Northern and Central areas of Asia would have been possible.

"We should emphasize that these routes are not 'real', definite pathways of Pleistocene human movement. However, they do suggest that we should look for human presence, migration, and interaction with other hominins in new parts of Asia that have been neglected as static voids of archaeology," said co-author Dr. Patrick Roberts also of the Max Planck Institute. "Given what we are increasingly discovering about the flexibility of our species, it would be of no surprise if we were to find early Homo sapiens in the middle of modern deserts or mountainous glacial sheets."

"These models will stimulate new survey and fieldwork in previously forgotten regions of northern and Central Asia," said co-author Professor Nicole Boivin, Director of the Department of Archaeology at the Max Planck Institute. "Our next task is to undertake this work, which we will be doing in the next few years with an aim to test these new potential models of human arrival in these parts of Asia."

--

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>

Main Image Credit: Nils Vanwezer

Wetter climate may have allowed ancient humans to reach eastern Asia

A new study from an international team assembled at the...

Mount Everest recently claimed its eleventh casualty this season due to what many are calling a ‘traffic jam’ of too many climbers waiting in line in hostile conditions to reach the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/melting-mt-everest-dead-bodies/">world’s highest peak</a>. 

Climbing Everest has become synonymous with resilience, strength, bravery, and taking on any challenge regardless of the odds. The draw of Everest for many climbers, whether experienced or not, is the sense of accomplishment garnered from reaching the top. 

The peak, which sits at nearly 30,000 feet above sea level, would be an impressive addition to any climber’s resume. There are also climbers seeking the thrill of mastering not one but seven of the world’s highest summits, a feat few have achieved. 

Many of the deaths that occurred this season did not happen on the way up to the summit, but on the way down after climbers queued up in long lines waiting in Everest’s death zone. Climbers who pushed themselves too hard to get to the top collapsed soon after their final descent. 

The death zone, which starts around 26,000 feet, is the name given to the last stretch of Everest where oxygen levels are scarce and every minute counts against you in the fight for survival. 

Every inhale in the death zone only supplies the body with about a third of the oxygen that a person usually breathes in at sea level.

At the summit itself, which measures about the size of two ping-pong tables, people want their moment of glory even though a seemingly endless row of climbers are waiting in the death zone, surviving on oxygen tanks. 

One climber who made the summit this season described the scene as “<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/26/world/asia/mount-everest-deaths.html">a zoo</a>.”

“Once you get above about 25,000 feet, your body just can’t metabolize the oxygen,” Grayson Schaffer told <a href="https://www.npr.org/2019/05/26/727107521/why-mount-everests-death-toll-keeps-climbing">NPR’s Weekend Edition</a>. “Your muscles start to break down. You start to have fluid that builds up around your lungs and your brain. Your brain starts to swell. The danger there is that, at that altitude, the body just can’t survive.”

The tourism board in Nepal has pushed back against the traffic jam narrative, according to <a href="https://www.npr.org/2019/05/28/727707684/after-deadly-season-on-everest-nepal-has-no-plans-to-issue-fewer-permits">NPR</a>.

Mohan Krishna Sapkota, secretary at the country’s <a href="http://www.tourism.gov.np/">Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation</a>, told the Associated Press that crowding was not the problem, instead pointing to weather conditions and unprepared climbers. 

Inclement weather conditions were definitely a contributing factor. 

“On May 22, after several days of bad weather, there was a small window of clear weather, when more than 200 mountaineers ascended Everest,” Danduraj Ghimire, director general of Nepal’s Tourism Department, told <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/28/world/mount-everest-deaths-why/index.html">CNN</a>. “The main cause of deaths on Everest has been high altitude sickness, which is what happened with most of the climbers who lost their lives this season as well.”

This year’s deadly climbing season has raised many issues, and concerns about commercial climbing operations, traffic jams, safety, and inexperienced climbers being allowed permits.

The Nepalese government is planning to improve safety measures and ensure that only experienced climbers who can handle the harsh and extreme conditions are allowed to climb the summit. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com </a>Staff Writer

Image Credit: Shutterstock/Daniel Prudek

Deadly climbing season raises major concerns about safety on Mount Everest

Mount Everest recently claimed its eleventh casualty this season due...

<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



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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

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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