Carrying a reusable water bottle is a smart habit. It saves money. It cuts down on single-use plastic. It keeps you hydrated. There’s a catch, though. 



Many of us don’t clean our bottles nearly as well or as often as we think we do, and the germs that hitch a ride on our hands, rims, and lids can stick around.



In 2024, the global market for reusable water bottles was valued at about $10 billion, with surveys of university students reporting usage rates ranging from 50% to 81%.



A study on the campus of <a href="https://www.purdue.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Purdue University</a> put everyday bottles under the microscope to see how clean they really are and which habits help or hurt. The takeaway is a reality check with simple fixes that anyone can put into practice.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-studying-reusable-water-bottles">Studying reusable water bottles</h2>



The research team kept the question simple: "How clean are the bottles that students actually use all day?" 



To get real-world answers, they collected 90 bottles directly from students. They asked owners how they used and cleaned their bottles, then tested the bottles in two ways.



First, they swabbed the outer surfaces using a rapid hygiene test called ATP that lights up when organic residue remains. This signal is widely used in food safety as a quick screen for whether a surface is truly clean after washing. 



Second, they rinsed the insides and counted bacteria clinging to water-contact surfaces. They measured common water-loving bacteria and checked for coliforms, an indicator group that can signal when conditions could support more concerning contamination.



The study was led by Carl Behnke from <a href="https://www.purdue.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Purdue University</a> with a cohort of academics and scientists. Later in the process, Dr. Yuriko Fukuta, an assistant professor of medicine (infectious diseases) at <a href="https://www.bcm.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Baylor College of Medicine</a>, added clinical context.



Their goal wasn’t to name and shame anyone’s bottle. It was to map daily habits to measurable cleanliness, so people could tweak what they do and keep their bottles safer.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-s-on-the-outside">What's on the outside</h2>



The outsides of bottles were dirtier than they looked. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ATP_test" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ATP readings</a> indicated that the exterior surfaces of all the water bottles collected (including two new bottles that were purchased from a local retailer as controls) were considered "dirty" and failed the ATP test.



That’s not surprising in daily life, where hands move from phones to doorknobs to laptop keyboards to bottle caps. Residue left behind gives microbes places to hang on to.



More frequent refills were associated with dirtier outer surfaces. Each refill adds touchpoints: your hands, the cap, counter edges, and faucet areas. The rim matters here because it is where hands and mouths meet.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-s-on-the-inside">What's on the inside</h2>



Scientists tested the inside of people’s reusable bottles to see how many live bacteria were inside. Think of the number they report - CFU per milliliter - as how many tiny bacterial “colonies” can grow from a small sip of liquid rinsed off the bottle’s inner walls. 



Many places set the bar for <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/nearly-100-million-americans-exposed-to-contaminated-drinking-water/">drinking water</a> at below 100–500 CFU/mL. In this study, about 7 out of 10 bottles cleared 100, about 2 out of 3 topped 200, and 3 out of 5 exceeded 500. In plain English: most bottles carried more bacteria than you’d want in clean drinking water.



Researchers also checked for “<a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/coliform-bacteria">coliforms</a>,” the bacteria we use as a red flag for sanitation. For bottled water, the rule of thumb is basically “none detected” (no more than 1 per 100 mL). Here, roughly 1 in 4 bottles broke that limit, and a few were sky-high.



Bacteria need three things: moisture, nutrients, and time. A bottle provides moisture by design. Nutrients show up when anything other than water goes in, and time accumulates when a bottle sits in a warm car, on a desk, or by the bed overnight.



One clear pattern stood out. Bottles used strictly for water tended to have lower bacterial counts. Bottles that also held sports drinks, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/bvo-highly-toxic-soda-ingredient-banned-by-the-fda-in-2024-still-being-used-today/">soda</a>, or sweetened tea or coffee with cream often had much higher counts. 



Sugars feed bacteria. Proteins and fats can leave a film that helps cells attach and form biofilms, which are much harder to remove than free-floating cells.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cleaning-reusable-water-bottles">Cleaning reusable water bottles</h2>



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/drinking-from-plastic-bottles-raises-your-blood-pressure/">Material</a> played a limited role. Glass tended to look cleaner on the quick outside test, likely because its surface is smoother and nonporous. But no material gets a free pass. 



Design features - narrow necks, flip tops, straws, bite valves, and silicone gaskets - create nooks where residue and biofilms hide. Those tucked-away spots are often the last to be disassembled and scrubbed.



People who cleaned more often generally had better results, but intentions didn’t always match outcomes. 



A quick rinse can leave sticky films intact. Dishwashers vary in heat and spray coverage; water may not reach beneath threads, seals, and straw assemblies.



Washing without separating the different parts of the bottle lets biofilms survive in hidden crevices.



“Do you wash your dishes after dinner?” Behnke asked. “Yes. But with water bottles, we often take them all over the place and don’t properly clean them.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-human-health-concerns">Human health concerns</h2>



Fukuta suggested that bacteria might include <a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/staph-infections/symptoms-causes/syc-20356221" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">staphylococcus bacteria</a> or <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/group-a-strep/about/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">strep</a>. And there’s this, from the cohort study: “More than 20% of our samples had coliform bacteria, which is fecal matter,” says Behnke.



A bottle can act as a fomite - a surface that helps move microbes from place to place - when it isn’t kept clean. Hands touch the cap and rim. 



Mouths contact the same areas. If the outside is grimy, it can become the pathway for microbes to reach the drinking surfaces.



Dr. Yuriko Fukuta agrees. “We’re constantly touching our water bottles with our mouths and hands, so it’s easy to transmit bacteria to them, and then it just grows,” she says. “In some cases this can make you sick, especially if you have a weaker immune system.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-reusable-water-bottle-tips">Reusable water bottle tips</h2>



Treat a reusable bottle like a food-contact surface. Use hot water and dish soap. Scrub the walls with a bottle brush. 



Use a small brush, skewer, or toothpick for threads and tiny crevices. Take lids, straws, bite valves, and silicone rings apart and scrub them individually. 



Let everything dry completely with the cap off. Drying breaks the moisture part of the bacteria formula and prevents the musty smell that appears when water lingers.



If you use sweet or creamy drinks, wash the bottle the same day. If your current bottle has many small parts and you often skip steps, a simpler design with a wide mouth can help you stick with the routine. 



Avoid sharing bottles. Saliva adds new microbes that can seed later growth, even if nothing seems wrong at the time. 



If you often set your bottle on public surfaces, wipe the outside periodically, paying special attention to the rim and cap.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-it-all-means">What it all means</h2>



Reusable bottles are still a smart, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/hundreds-of-thousands-of-nanoplastics-found-in-bottled-water/">sustainable choice</a>. They just need real cleaning. 



The inside isn’t sterile, and the outside picks up residue fast. Pair frequent refilling with a consistent cleaning routine. 



That set of small steps turns your bottle back into what you intended it to be: a safe hydration tool, not a traveling microbiology project.



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://www.foodprotection.org/files/food-protection-trends/nov-dec-17-sun.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Food Protection</a>.



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Reusable water bottles are a breeding ground for strep and fecal bacteria, study warns

Carrying a reusable water bottle is a smart habit. It saves money. It cuts down on single-use plastic. It keeps you hydrated. There’s a catch, though. Many of us don’t clean our bottles nearly as well or as often as we think we do, and the germs that hitch a ride on our hands, rims, and lids can stick around. In 2024, the global market for reusable water bottles was valued at about $10 billion, with surveys of university students reporting usage rates ranging from 50% to...

New research from <a href="https://home.dartmouth.edu/">Dartmouth College</a> has found that the human brain is obsessed with the social details of our lives. The researchers found evidence that the brain is busy combing through social information even when we are not interacting with others. 

The study demonstrates, for the first time, how two regions of the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/learning-instruments-languages-brain/">brain</a> become increasingly connected while the brain is resting after encoding new social information.

The medial prefrontal cortex and temporoparietal junction are regions of the brain that regulate our perception of other people, including their mental states, personalities, and intentions. Since previous research established that these two particular regions tend to experience a spike in connectivity during rest, they are considered to be part of the brain's default network.

The Dartmouth team set out to determine whether these default regions are consolidating social information during rest.

Study lead author Meghan L. Meyer is an assistant professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences and the director of the Dartmouth Social Neuroscience Lab.

“We've known for a while that brain regions associated with social thinking engage rest but we really never understood why,” said Professor Meyer. “This study suggests an important function to this pattern: engaging these regions during rest may help us learn about our social environment.”

Study participants completed social encoding and non-social encoding tasks while researchers scanned their brain activity. 

For the social encoding task, participants were asked to rate their impressions of a person based on the individual's photograph, job title, and two character traits. For the non-social encoding task, the participants rated photographs based on a location instead of a person.

Overall, the study participants encoded 60 social trials and 60-non-social trials. Some performed social encoding first, while others performed non-social encoding first. 

Next, participants were presented with an unexpected associative memory test to examine their ability to identify the same photographs of people, places, and their respective traits.


The researchers found a spike in activity between the medial prefrontal cortex and temporoparietal junction regions during rest periods after social encoding. Greater connectivity between these two default network regions was associated with better performance on the social memory tests.

Furthermore, participants who encoded the social information first maintained higher levels of connectivity between these two brain regions during the entire trial, which was not found to be the case for those who were presented with the non-social tasks first. This indicates that the brain consolidates social information as soon as it has the opportunity to rest. 

“When our mind has a break, we might be prioritizing what we learn about our social environment,” said Professor Meyer.

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://academic.oup.com/cercor">Cerebral Cortex</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

New research reveals our brains are fixated on our social lives

New research from Dartmouth College has found that the human...

Marijuana has become the preferred choice over alcohol and tobacco among young people, according to a recent study. This pattern was found to be particularly widespread across young men of specific racial and ethnic groups in the United States.

Study co-author Brian Fairman of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development explained that young people who start off with <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/parents-using-marijuana/">marijuana</a> before alcohol or tobacco are more likely to become heavy users and have problems related to the substance later in life.

The investigation was focused on data from the US National Survey on Drug Use and Health, which included information from more than 275,500 individuals between the ages 12 and 21. Participants were asked about their use of marijuana, cigarettes, alcohol, and other forms of tobacco or illegal drugs.

In 2014, eight percent of participants reported that marijuana was the first drug they ever used, which had nearly doubled from 4.8 percent in 2004. Fairman said this increase may be driven by the concurrent decline in young people who smoked cigarettes first, which dropped from 21 percent to 9 percent during the same decade.

“We also observed a significant increase in youth abstaining from substance use altogether, which rose from 36 percent to 46 percent, and therefore, it is unclear the degree to which increases in those initiating marijuana first could be due to youth abstaining or delaying cigarettes,” said Fairman.

The researchers determined that those using marijuana first were more likely to be Black, American Indian/Alaskan Native, multiracial, or Hispanic males.

“Our findings suggest important targets for public health intervention and prevention of marijuana use, especially among American Indian/Alaska Native and Black youth, who are less likely to have access to treatment or successful treatment outcomes,” said Fairman. 

He believes that drug prevention strategies could be improved by targeting groups based on which drug they are most likely to try first.

“To the degree these trends continue and greater numbers of youth start with marijuana as their first drug, there may be an increasing need for public interventions and treatment services for marijuana-related problems,” said Fairman.

The study is published by Springer in the journal <a href="https://link.springer.com/journal/11121">Prevention Science</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

More young people pick marijuana over alcohol or cigarettes

Marijuana has become the preferred choice over alcohol and tobacco...

Media contorts our view of the world. Sometimes the distortion caused by a certain story can emphasize a point and bring into focus a truth rarely seen.  Other times, the media can seriously twist the truth, creating irrational fear, distrust, or hate. How the media shapes our worldview can be evident in portrayal of male vs. female gender roles, race and ethnicity.  It’s hard to watch a movie like the 2013 cannibal horror film, Green Inferno without seeing how unfair some representations are.  The film villainizes a South American tribe’s people to the point of dehumanization. But in addition to affecting how we see other people, media also plays an important role in how we view the natural world. 

The problem of media’s role in seeing wildlife and the environment is as old as storytelling.  It’s easy to ignore the underlying messages in stories like Goldilocks and the Three Bears or Little Red Riding Hood only because we don’t often encounter bears or wolves in our day to day lives.  Upon consideration, many fairy tales take dim views of undisturbed landscapes and wild creatures.  Hansel and Gretel is another example, the forest being a fearful, dangerous place where cannibal witches live.  I think as a whole we’ve become more thoughtful of newer stories told to children, but the portrayal of animals and ‘wild’ places as evil lingers in film.  

The classic of animal horror films is the 1975 Steven Spielberg movie, Jaws.  The tragedy of Jaws is multifaceted; it’s a minimalist psychological horror film that seems to have just enough realism to make it believable.  Many consider Jaws one of the greatest movies ever made; based on a novel, it’s often erroneously thought to be based on factual events.  According to the Florida Field Museum’s International Shark Attack File, there were only 88 cases of unprovoked <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sharks-smarter-music-food/">shark</a> attacks on humans in 2017 worldwide.  There were also 38 provoked shark attacks on humans. Of the attacks, 53 were in the United States but there were no fatalities in the US, there were only five unprovoked fatal attacks globally.  It’s not that Jaws was wrong in showing shark attacks, it’s that given billions of people in the ocean each year, 88 attacks is an incredibly small number.  Jaws insinuates that sharks are scarier, more dangerous than they are, making them into monstrous caricatures of themselves. <a href="https://blog.nationalgeographic.org/">National Geographic</a> points out that annually, that 100 million sharks are killed by humans, and such statistics beg the question of who is monstrous.  

Newer films like 2011, The Grey, starring Liam Neeson portray controversial and endangered wolves as uncharacteristically diabolical killing machines.  The hero works in Alaska for an oil company protecting workers from wild animals. When he and others are in a plane wreck, they must fight to survive against a malicious pack of giant wolves.  One by one the characters are killed off, leaving only Neeson standing for a last fight with the wolves.

In a 2012 piece for <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us">Psychology Today</a>, Marc Bekoff reports that only two wolf attacks on humans have been recorded in North America in recent years. In his classic book Of Wolves and Men, Barry Lopez notes that the story is more complex through history.  There are strong oral traditions of wolf attacks that shouldn’t be altogether discredited but nothing comes close to the gross exaggeration of The Grey.  Today wolf attacks on humans are rare enough to be almost non-existent and wolves have never engendered the evil shown in film.        

Showing the literalism of the film is the fact that the crew on set actually ate wolf stew during production.  The timing of The Grey was also especially poor for wolves and their advocates.  In 2011, wolves were delisted as endangered species, pushed mainly by legislators seeking re-election in western states.  Science didn’t support delisting wolves, and it’s easy to see how films like The Grey can fuel more wolf hating and then newly legalized wolf slaughter.  

There are plenty of more examples of animal demonization in popular films like the 1997 movie, Anaconda, classics like Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds and the absurd like Sharknado and Three Headed Shark Attack.  Some movies are better than others, The Ghost and the Darkness does villainize lions but it’s also somewhat based on first-hand accounts of extremely rare incidents.  The important thing is how do fictional portrayal of animals affect human thought and more importantly, action towards non-humans.  

In an article in the scientific journal <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/">Plos One</a>, Stephen R. Ross et. al, wrote that humans viewing photos of Chimpanzees standing near a human are 35.5% less likely to think of the Great Ape as endangered compared to people viewing photos of Chimpanzees standing alone.  This is important because it highlights how even wild animals used as heroes in film can have real world negative implications (perhaps 1951’s Bedtime for Bonzo or the use of a Gorilla in George of the Jungle).  

A personal discovery of mine highlights how one film can capture the imagination in bizarre ways more than the reality.  When I was preparing to visit Madagascar, I was stunned to see most people’s reactions. The shadow of Madagascar the 2005 DreamWorks Animation cartoon loomed large over views of one of the world’s most fascinating islands.  I remember one person singing, “I like to move it move it” when I told him I was going to Madagascar as I was getting photos for my visa application.  In the original cartoon, Madagascar itself being nothing more than a prop, is portrayed as stunningly wild and filled with anthropogenic (and yes, dancing) lemurs.  <a href="https://www.livescience.com/">Live Science</a> reported in July 2012 that 91% of 103 known lemur species are threatened, making them the world’s most endangered mammal.  All of the world’s lemurs are endemic to Madagascar. About 80% of Madagascar’s original forest has been destroyed. 

Besides the inaccuracies in fictional film, documentaries have equally shared blame in misconceptions.  Disney’s Academy Award winning 1958 documentary White Wilderness supposedly showed lemmings naturally swimming out to sea where they die en masse.  The only problem is this isn’t natural lemming behavior. The film was actually shot in Alberta, Canada where lemmings don’t naturally live, so they were imported.  Lemmings were put on turntables and herded off a cliff into a river that was shown as a sea in the film. A handful of lemmings was skillfully made to appear as hundreds of suicidal rodents on screen and thus a mythic creature was born in the American imagination.

Since White Wilderness, Disney films have become a staple of American childhood and newer documentaries have their own flaws.  In an April 2014 piece for the <a href="https://nypost.com/">New York Post</a>, Kyle Smith points out that Disney’s Bears is more anthropomorphism than fact.

A more omnipresent facet of American culture than Disney documentaries are Disney cartoons, in this category, Bambi is a classic familiar to most.  Few think of Bambi as controversial, but it stirred up plenty of resentment among sportsmen at its release.  After watching a preview of Bambi, Raymond J. Brown, then editor of Outdoor Life, a sporting magazine, sent Walt Disney a telegram.  Among other points, Brown said that it was illegal to hunt deer in the spring as shown in the film, underscoring Bambi’s supposed dependence on his mother when she was killed.  In 1943, the year after Bambi was released, Aldo Leopold pushed for a season on antlerless deer to reduce an overpopulated herd in Wisconsin.  Opposition to Leopold’s proposal killed it and some have suggested that Bambi played an influential role.

It’s nearly impossible to view nature without the influence of media, as we are language based animals and it influences our thoughts and actions at the deepest levels.  It is possible to filter the media you consume and temper it with firsthand experience. I know of Madagascar as I myself saw it despite watching the cartoon previously. I understand that Bambi is a caricature of reality and I watch documentary films cautiously, understanding that they are also a product of the entertainment business.  If you want to understand the world, put down the remote and step outside. 

--

By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

Media Monsters: When movies cast animals as villains

Media contorts our view of the world. Sometimes the distortion...

Every year, an estimated 750,000 people die from mosquito-transmitted diseases, these include malaria, dengue fever, and West Nile. 

A <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/swatting-mosquitoes-avoid-scent/">mosquito bite</a> can actually exacerbate some of these diseases, as research has shown infections from bites are more severe than those injected into mice with a needle. 

While these diseases themselves are heavily studied, the effects of mosquito bites and saliva, particularly in the absence of pathogens, on the human immune system is not well understood. 

This is because studies involving mosquito proteins found in saliva during the time of feeding were conducted with mice and therefore not an accurate model for explaining the effects on humans. 

Now, a new study also using mice engrafted with human stem cells sheds insight into the human immune response to proteins in mosquito saliva. 

The study was conducted by researchers from the <a href="https://www.bcm.edu/">Baylor College of Medicine</a> in Houston Texas and published in the journal<a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosntds/article?id=10.1371/journal.pntd.0006439"> PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases. </a> 

Mosquito saliva contains a complex mixture of proteins which allows the mosquito to feed on a host. The saliva can inhibit coagulation of the blood to make it easier for the mosquito to get an adequate blood meal. 

This mixture of proteins in the saliva is also what causes the annoying itch sensation after a mosquito bite because the body is responding to the saliva, or foreign substance, that was recently left by the insect. 

In order to better understand how the proteins in mosquito saliva affect the immune system, the researchers engrafted human hematopoietic stem cells into mice which gave the mice components of a human immune system. 

The researchers then recorded any changes in the new immune cells after each mouse in the study was bitten by four mosquitoes that were not infected with any pathogen. 

There was a much larger amount of immune response to the bites than previous studies showed. The researchers found altered TH1 And TH2 T helper cells and an increase in levels of cytokines. 

The results also showed increases in several different cells through various points during the immune responses and most notably these immune responses were detectable for up to seven days after the bite. 

The study shows just how much our immune system is affected by the protein in mosquito saliva, even without pathogens and could help with reducing the number of people who suffer from  mosquito-transmitted diseases 

“Understanding how mosquito saliva interacts with the human immune system not only helps us understand mechanisms of disease pathogenesis but also could provide possibilities for treatments,” said the researchers. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Mosquito saliva causes immune responses that last for days

Every year, an estimated 750,000 people die from mosquito-transmitted diseases,...

A new study has found that learning to play an instrument or a new language conditions the brain to become more efficient. While performing memory challenges, musicians and bilinguals used different brain networks and showed less overall <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/meditation-breathing-brain-health/">brain</a> activity.

Study first author Dr. Claude Alain is a senior scientist at the Rotman Research Institute of the <a href="https://www.baycrest.org/">Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care</a>.

“These findings show that musicians and bilinguals require less effort to perform the same task, which could also protect them against cognitive decline and delay the onset of dementia,” said Dr. Alain. 

“Our results also demonstrated that a person's experiences, whether it's learning how to play a musical instrument or another language, can shape how the brain functions and which networks are used.

It has been established for some time that musicians and people who are fluent in more than one language have a better working memory, but the underlying reason for this has not yet been established.

The current research is the first of its kind to use brain imaging to evaluate working memory in musicians, bilinguals, and individuals with no such training. 

The study was focused on 41 young adults between the ages of 19 and 35 who were classified as being either English-speaking non-musicians, musicians who only spoke English, and bilinguals who did not play a musical instrument. Neuroimaging was used as the participants were tasked with remembering specific types of sounds and the directions from which the sounds originated.

Musicians performed the best on identifying types of sounds, while both musicians and bilinguals performed better on the location task.

Although bilinguals performed at about the same level as individuals who had no music or language training when recalling the types of sounds they heard, they still showed less brain activity during the task.

“People who speak two languages may take longer to process sounds since the information is run through two language libraries rather than just one,” said Dr. Alain.

“During this task, the brains of bilinguals showed greater signs of activation in areas that are known for speech comprehension, supporting this theory.”


The researchers will now explore whether musical training leads to changes in brain function among adults.


The study is published in the journal <a href="https://nyaspubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/17496632">Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Learning instruments and new languages strengthens your brain

A new study has found that learning to play an...

Experts at the <a href="http://www.caltech.edu/">California Institute of Technology</a> have discovered a specific chemical that accumulates in the brain as a result of chronic social isolation. The researchers also found that this chemical is responsible for the negative effects of social isolation. 

In humans, social isolation is linked to crippling mental health issues such as depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. Blocking the chemical buildup in the brain that results from seclusion could ultimately lead to a method of treating <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/meditation-mental-health-benefits/">mental health</a> disorders.

The research, which was conducted in the laboratory of David J. Anderson, was based on previous observations of social isolation in mice and the resulting behavioral changes.

In response to seclusion, mice show increased aggression, persistent fear, and hypersensitivity to threatening stimuli. For example, mice that have been socially isolated will remain frozen in place long after a potential threat has passed.

These effects are not seen as result of short-term isolation, suggesting that chronic isolation is what causes the changes in aggression and fear responses.

Previous research in the Anderson laboratory had uncovered a particular neurochemical called tachykinin that plays a role in promoting aggression in socially isolated flies. 

Tachykinin is a neuropeptide that is released when certain neurons are activated. Neuropeptides alter the properties of other neurons when they bind to specific receptors, which has an impact on neural circuit function.

In mice, the tachykinin gene Tac2 encodes a neuropeptide called neurokinin B (NkB). Tac2 and NkB are produced by neurons in specific regions of a mouse’s brain - the amygdala and the hypothalamus - which are involved in emotional and social behavior.

The researchers found that chronic social isolation caused an increase in Tac2 gene expression and the production of NkB. When they administered a drug to chemically block NkB-specific receptors, the negative effects of isolation were eliminated and anxious mice began behaving normally.

The researchers also found that suppressing the Tac2 gene in the amygdala eliminated behaviors associated with fear, but not aggression. On the other hand, suppressing the gene in the hypothalamus eliminated increased aggression but not persistent fear. This finding indicates that various effects of social isolation are produced as Tac2 increases in different brain regions.

“The approach used here allowed us both to compare the effects of different manipulations of Tac2 signaling in the same brain region, as well as to compare the effects of the same manipulation across different brain regions,” said Anderson. 

“The rich data set generated by these experiments revealed how this neuropeptide acts globally across the brain to coordinate diverse behavioral responses to social isolation stress.”

Study lead author Moriel Zelikowsky explained that humans have a signaling system comparable to the Tac2 system in mice, so this research may have potential applications for treating mental health disorders such as chronic stress.

“When looking at the treatment of mental health disorders, we traditionally focus on targeting broad neurotransmitter systems like serotonin and dopamine that circulate widely throughout the brain,” said Zelikowsky.

“Manipulating these systems broadly can lead to unwanted side effects. So, being able to precisely and locally modify a neuropeptide like Tac2 is a promising approach to mental health treatments.”

The study is published the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/">Cell</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Social isolation causes chemical changes in the brain

Experts at the California Institute of Technology have discovered a...

Do we find older dogs less cute and less lovable than their younger puppy counterparts? 

A new study has found that although we don’t stop loving our four-legged friends the minute they grow out of the puppy stage, humans often subconsciously feel that canine cuteness reaches a peak at a certain age. The findings have implications on why rescue and adoption efforts can be more challenging for older dogs.

Clive Wynne, a professor of psychology at <a href="https://www.asu.edu/">Arizona State University</a>, set out to explore what drove the bond between humans and dogs after the mother was done weaning them. 

Wynne examined what ages we find dogs to be the most attractive and found a link between the vulnerability of young <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/puppies-talk-older-dog/">puppies</a> at weaning age and their maximum appeal to humans. 

The results, published in the journal Anthrozoos: A Multidisciplinary Journal of the Interactions of People and Animals, found that dogs are most attractive to humans at eight weeks of age, just when they need us most. 

“This could be a signal coming through to us of how dogs have evolved to rely on human care,” said Wynne. “This could be dogs showing us how the bond between human and dog is not just something that we find immensely satisfying in our lives. ... But for them, it's the absolute bedrock of their existence. That being able to connect with us, to find an emotional hook with us is what actually makes their lives possible.” 

For the study, Wynne and his colleagues showed 51 participants a series of photographs of dogs at different ages from the first weeks of life to adulthood. The researchers chose Jack Russell terriers, cane corsos, and white shepherds for the study. 

Participants were asked to rank the level of attractiveness of the dog in each photo. 

At birth, puppies are the least attractive to humans, but this grows to a maximum attractiveness before ten weeks of age. 

To break it down by breed, the researchers found that maximum cuteness for corsos was reached at 6.3 weeks, for Jack Russells it was 7.7 weeks, and white shepherds were the most attractive at 8.3 weeks. 

“Around seven or eight weeks of age, just as their mother is getting sick of them and is going to kick them out of the den and they're going to have to make their own way in life, at that age, that is exactly when they are most attractive to human beings,” said Wynne. 

One interesting aspect of the study is that the results suggest that the early domestication of dogs was dependent more on their ability bond and our instinct to nurture than on canine intelligence. 

“I think that the intelligence of dogs is not the fundamental issue,” said Wynne. “It's this tremendous capacity to form intimate, strong, affectionate bonds. And that starts at maybe eight weeks of life when they're so compelling to us.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>,<a href="https://www.earth.com/"> Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Puppy cuteness peaks and older dogs get less love, research finds

Do we find older dogs less cute and less lovable...

Studies have consistently shown that eating fish, especially those rich in omega-3 fatty acids, is beneficial to heart health. 

Now, the <a href="http://heart.org/">American Heart Association</a> has just released a new advisory that continues to recommend eating fish twice a week, as it could help reduce the risk of stroke, heart failure coronary heart disease, and cardiac arrest. 

As heart disease is one of the <a href="http://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/the-top-10-causes-of-death">leading causes of death</a> worldwide, finding easy preventive measures to incorporate into diets and lifestyles could have a positive impact in lowering the number of deaths attributed to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/exercise-risk-heart-disease/">heart disease</a>. 

The advisory, which was published in the journal Circulation, discusses how recent studies have confirmed that fish are beneficial in reducing the risk of heart disease since the American Heart Association's previous statements regarding fish and heart health in 2002. 

A panel of nutritional experts reviewed studies about seafood including the risks of eating mercury that is found in fish. 

“Since the last advisory on eating fish was issued by the Association in 2002, scientific studies have further established the beneficial effects of eating seafood rich in Omega-3 fatty acids, especially when it replaces less healthy foods such as meats that are high in artery-clogging saturated fat,” said Eric B. Rimm, the lead author of the new advisory. 

The American Heart Association recommends eating two 3.5 ounce servings of non-fried fish every week, and oily fish like tuna and salmon are especially good choices because they are high in omega-3 fatty acids.

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>,<a href="https://www.earth.com/"> Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

New advisory confirms that eating fish is good for the heart

Studies have consistently shown that eating fish, especially those rich...

A recent study has found that serving coffee at a meeting stimulates the discussion and keeps it focused, promotes involvement, and makes group members feel positively about their own participation as well as the contribution of others.

While many decades of research has explored the effects of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/3-cups-coffee-heart/">coffee</a> on individuals, this study is the first to focus on the influence that coffee has on group performance.

Study co-author Rao Unnava is the dean of the Graduate School of Management at the <a href="https://www.ucdavis.edu/">University of California, Davis</a>.

“If you look at where coffee’s being consumed, a significant amount happens in group settings,” said Unnava.

The study involved two experiments, each of which was focused on around 70 undergraduate students.

In the first trial, several small teams of participants drank coffee together before engaging in a group discussion about the Occupy movement, while the other teams drank coffee after engaging in a group discussion. The groups were tasked with developing concepts based on the movement to be included in graduate school discussion topics. 

The researchers found that participants who had coffee prior to the meeting rated their own performance as well as the accomplishment of their team much more positively compared to those who drank coffee after the meeting.

Study co-author Vasu Unnava wanted to find out if it was the caffeine or simply the act of drinking coffee together that led to more positive outcomes. In a second trial, all of the teams had coffee together before engaging in group discussions, but some of the teams were given decaffeinated coffee. 

The individuals who drank caffeinated coffee rated themselves and their teams more positively compared to individuals who had decaffeinated coffee. The researchers also noted that the caffeinated students were more alert and reported more willingness to work with their teams again.

Furthermore, recordings of the group conferences revealed that teams who drank caffeinated coffee were more focused and contributed more information that was relevant to the discussion topic.

The team believes that the positive effects observed in the study can be attributed to the increased level of awareness that follows caffeine consumption.

The research is published in the <a href="https://www.sagepub.com/journals/Journal200774/">Journal of Psychopharmacology</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Coffee proven to improve group performance, collaboration

A recent study has found that serving coffee at a...

New research has revealed that climate change will push commercially important fish north, causing strain on many United States fisheries.

While there have been other similar studies examining the impacts of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/humans-driving-climate-change/">climate change</a> on species, these were either too big on a global scale or too small on a regional scale to get a better understanding of species migration in North America. 

The recent study was conducted by researchers from <a href="https://www.rutgers.edu/">Rutgers University</a> and published in the journal PLOS ONE. 

The results show how climate change will cause fish, some which are of high economic importance to the U.S., to move north to cooler waters and shift vital fishing grounds in the process. 

For the study, the researchers focused on the North American continental shelves on the Pacific and Atlantic coasts. Different species of fish and marine wildlife were included in the research such as finfish, sharks, rays, crustaceans, and quid. 

Some of the most sensitive species to climate change are Pacific rockfishes, Atlantic cod, and black sea bass. 

The researchers used 16 different climate models to project ocean temperatures and species migration. Each model had a low and high level scenario of greenhouse gas emissions in North America. 

Fish will move away from waters that are too warm and seek out cooler areas. Researchers have already documented this process among some fish and as the impacts of climate continue, more and more species will follow suit. 

“We've already seen that shifts of a couple of hundred miles in a species' range can disrupt fisheries,” said James Morley, the study’s lead author. “This study shows that such dislocations will happen all over the continent and on both coasts throughout the 21st century.”

With the models, the lower level greenhouse emission scenarios coincided with the Paris Accord goals, and the researchers matched the ocean temperature and climate projections with statistical data that shows what temperatures different species preferred. 

The researchers found that species’ migration north was inevitable even with the lowest emissions scenario, but habitat shifts would be two to three times greater with high emission scenarios. 

This northward shift could present some major problems for the fishing operations that depend on fisheries in North America. 

“For commercial fishers, this often means longer trips and higher fuel costs,” said Malin Pinsky, the studies co-author. “Some species along the U.S. and Canadian Pacific coasts will move as much as 900 miles north from their current habitats.”

Pinsky went on to explain that although many fishers are used to traveling long distances, for some regions, the added mileage would put a real strain on the costs and effort associated with fishing. 

--

By<a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com"> Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Climate change will force fish north and strain fishing business

New research has revealed that climate change will push commercially...

The fluctuating value of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/environmental-impact-bitcoin/">Bitcoin</a> is not the only reason the digital network has been making headlines recently. As the price of the cryptocurrency escalates, so do the network's power requirements, which are expected to total half a percent of worldwide electric energy consumption by the end of 2018.

While it has been estimated that the system currently consumes as much energy as some medium-sized countries, accurately calculating this number remains a challenge.

Financial economist Alex de Vries has used a new methodology to quantify Bitcoin's total energy requirements. De Vries works at the Experience Center of PwC in the Netherlands and is the founder of Digiconomist, a blog that aims to better inform cryptocurrency users.

"We've seen a lot of back-of-the-envelope calculations, but we need more scientific discussion on where this network is headed,” explains de Vries. “Right now, the information available is pretty poor quality overall, so I'm hoping that people will use this paper as a foundation for more research.”


De Vries has found that the minimum usage of the Bitcoin network is currently at 2.55 gigawatts, which is nearly the amount of electricity used in Ireland. He also determined that a single Bitcoin transaction uses as much electricity as an average household in the Netherlands uses in an entire month. 

De Vries predicts the network could be using as much as 7.7 gigawatts - half of a percent of the world's total consumption - by the end of this year. 

“To me, half a percent is already quite shocking. It's an extreme difference compared to the regular financial system, and this increasing electricity demand is definitely not going to help us reach our climate goals.”

Computers in the Bitcoin network perform continuous calculations in a process known as “mining.”  

“You are generating numbers the whole time and the machines you're using for that use electricity,” explains de Vries. “But if you want to get a bigger slice of the pie, you need to increase your computing power. So there's a big incentive for people to increase how much they're spending on electricity and on machines.”

Despite some uncertainty in the process, De Vries feels that it is important to get the very best estimate of hardware and electricity costs generated by Bitcoin so that the sustainability of cryptocurrencies can be assessed, which will help to inform future policies. Restrictions around Bitcoin mining have already been established in some American states.

“But you need to base your policy on something. And I think that my method is important in that regard, because it's very forward-looking. It's focused not on the now, but on where we're headed. And I think that's something you really need to know if you're going to draft policy about it.”

De Vries says that there is plenty of room for discussion regarding his method. 

“I think everyone agrees on the minimum energy consumption. But the future estimate? That's actually quite debatable. We don't really have a common approach to getting to a future estimate of electricity consumption right now, which is why I am hoping to get this conversation started. I'm doing this research, but a lot of people should be doing it.”

De Vries reports that the network could eventually consume five percent of the world's total electricity if the value of Bitcoin continues to surge.

The study is published by <a href="https://www.cell.com/">Cell Press</a> in the journal <a href="http://www.cell.com/joule/home">Joule</a>. 

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Bitcoin to consume half a percent of the world’s energy this year

The fluctuating value of Bitcoin is not the only reason...

A team of researchers has found that beds made by <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/chimpanzees-learn-tools/">chimpanzees</a> high in the treetops are cleaner than most human beds. An investigation into the microbes and insects present in chimpanzee nests and human beds revealed that chimpanzees have more sanitary sleeping accommodations.

Study lead author Megan Thoemmes is a Ph.D. student at <a href="https://www.ncsu.edu/">North Carolina State University</a>.

“We know that human homes are effectively their own ecosystems, and human beds often contain a subset of the taxa - or types - of organisms found in the home,” said Thoemmes. 

“For example, about 35 percent of bacteria in human beds stem from our own bodies, including fecal, oral and skin bacteria. We wanted to know how this compares with some of our closest evolutionary relatives, the chimpanzees, which make their own beds daily.

The team used samples collected from 41 chimpanzee nests in Tanzania to test for microbial biodiversity. Samples of arthropods such as insects and spiders collected from 15 of the nests were also used for the study.

The experts were not surprised to find major differences in the biodiversity found in chimpanzee beds and human beds. In addition to a greater diversity of microbes, the chimpanzee beds contained species present in forest habitats.

More significantly, the chimpanzee beds were found to be much less likely to harbor fecal, oral, or skin bacteria.


“We found almost none of those microbes in the chimpanzee nests, which was a little surprising,” said Thoemmes. “We also expected to see a significant number of arthropod parasites, but we didn't. There were only four ectoparasites found, across all the nests we looked at. And that's four individual specimens, not four different species.”


Thoemmes said that the research highlights the role that man-made structures play in shaping the ecosystems of our immediate environment. “In some ways, our attempts to create a clean environment for ourselves may actually make our surroundings less ideal.”

The study is published in the journal Royal <a href="http://rsos.royalsocietypublishing.org/">Royal Society Open Science</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Chimpanzees have surprisingly clean beds compared to humans

A team of researchers has found that beds made by...

<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;



---



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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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

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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

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

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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

Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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