Coffee is part of the morning routines for millions of people. But does drinking more coffee align with having more muscle? 



That’s the question behind a new analysis of Americans’ habits and body composition. This research doesn’t try to prove cause and effect. It asks whether higher coffee or caffeine intake corresponds to more limb muscle for a given body size.



The answer points in a positive direction for most adults, with an important exception. The details matter, because the way researchers measured muscle and tallied <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/coffee-may-help-you-live-longer-if-you-drink-it-this-way/">coffee intake</a> shapes how to read the results.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-limb-muscle-matters">Why limb muscle matters</h2>



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/studies-learn-the-exact-amount-of-time-you-should-spend-training-to-build-muscle/">Muscle mass</a> isn’t just about strength. Lower muscle mass in arms and legs raises the risk of falls, fractures, and everyday struggles that chip away at independence. 



Scientists often track limb muscle adjusted for body size because it flags early losses that can sneak up with age.



A standard yardstick for that job is the appendicular skeletal muscle mass-to-BMI ratio, abbreviated as <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10401528/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ASMBMI</a>. In plain terms: “How much limb muscle do you have for your body size?” 



This measurement focuses on muscle quantity, not how quickly you rise from a chair or how steady you feel on stairs.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-studying-coffee-s-link-to-muscles">Studying coffee's link to muscles</h2>



Researchers pulled data from a large, ongoing U.S. health survey (<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhanes/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NHANES</a>) spanning 2011-2018. 



They started with adults, applied clear rules such as “only include people with full diet interviews and body scans,” and finished with 8,333 participants. Muscle was measured by DXA scans of the arms and legs and then expressed as ASMBMI.



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/coffee-helps-bacteria-resist-antibiotics-in-your-gut/">Coffee intake</a> came from two 24-hour dietary recalls - structured interviews covering everything people ate and drank on two different days. The team looked at regular coffee, decaf coffee, and total caffeine from all sources. 



Their statistical models adjusted for age, sex, race, education, income, smoking, alcohol, physical activity, BMI, medical conditions, total calories, and protein, so they could compare people who were similar on many fronts except for coffee intake.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-the-results-say">What the results say</h2>



People who drank more coffee tended to have <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/eating-grapes-every-day-can-transform-your-muscles/">more limb muscle</a> relative to their body size. After full adjustments, the highest coffee group had about a 13% higher ASMBMI than the non-coffee group. 



The highest caffeinated coffee group showed roughly a 12% increase. The top caffeine group showed about an 11% increase. Decaf didn’t show a clear, statistically significant link. 



When researchers drew smoothed trend lines, the pattern appeared approximately linear: more <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/drinking-coffee-may-help-women-stay-sharp-and-strong-as-they-age/">regular coffee</a> or caffeine corresponded to more muscle relative to body size.



There was one major exception. When participants were split by BMI, the positive link disappeared in the group with obesity (BMI ≥ 30). 



In that subset, drinking more coffee was not associated with higher ASMBMI. That doesn’t mean coffee lowers muscle there; it means the helpful pattern seen elsewhere wasn’t present.



A likely reason is biological factors tied to obesity, including chronic, low-grade inflammation that speeds muscle breakdown and may overshadow small benefits from caffeine or other coffee compounds.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-limitations-in-this-research">Limitations in this research</h2>



This was a cross-sectional snapshot. It can spot links, but it can’t prove that coffee changes muscle. People with more muscle may simply be more active or keep schedules where coffee fits better. 



The models adjusted for activity and many other variables, which strengthens confidence, but unmeasured factors can still nudge results.



Diet recalls lean on memory and honesty, and add-ins like sugar or cream can be easy to forget. 



ASMBMI captures muscle quantity, not strength or performance, so it can’t tell you how much weight you can move or how good your balance is during daily activities. 



Results also come from U.S. adults in specific survey years, so patterns could differ in other populations.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-coffee-is-linked-with-muscles">Why coffee is linked with muscles</h2>



Caffeine stimulates the nervous system and modulates how the body uses fuel during activity. Coffee also contains <a href="https://www.chhs.colostate.edu/krnc/monthly-blog/what-are-polyphenols-another-great-reason-to-eat-fruits-and-veggies/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">polyphenols</a> with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. 



Lab and animal research suggests these compounds may support healthier muscle by encouraging autophagy - the cell’s cleanup crew for worn-out parts - and by dialing down chronic inflammation over time. 



This analysis didn’t test mechanisms, but these ideas fit with the pattern. Decaf’s “no clear link” signal hints that caffeine may be doing more of the heavy lifting in this dataset.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-did-we-learn-from-this">What did we learn from this?</h2>



In U.S. adults, higher <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mood-boost-how-coffee-makes-us-happier-in-the-morning/">regular coffee</a> and total caffeine intake tracked with more limb muscle relative to body size after accounting for many other factors. However, that association did not appear in participants with obesity. 



If coffee already fits your day, these results sit comfortably with a muscle-friendly routine. Keep portions sensible, mind the extras, and avoid late cups that cut into sleep because <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/irregular-sleep-may-cause-premature-muscle-aging/">poor sleep impairs recovery</a>.



If you’re in the obesity range, the study’s “no clear link” finding suggests coffee isn’t a muscle fix. 



The bigger levers are steady resistance training, enough protein spaced through the day, and better sleep, ideally alongside medical care that addresses weight, strength, and metabolic health together. 



Coffee can still be part of that plan if it agrees with you, but it’s not the star of the show.



It’s a pattern, not proof. Pair your coffee with protein, training, and sleep if your goal is to build or protect muscle.



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/nutrition/articles/10.3389/fnut.2024.1390309/full" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Frontiers in Nutrition</a>.



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Drinking this beverage every day helps protect your muscles from aging

Coffee is part of the morning routines for millions of people. But does drinking more coffee align with having more muscle? That’s the question behind a new analysis of Americans’ habits and body composition. This research doesn’t try to prove cause and effect. It asks whether higher coffee or caffeine intake corresponds to more limb muscle for a given body size. The answer points in a positive direction for most adults, with an important exception. The details matter, because the way researchers measured muscle and tallied coffee...

“Now get your patchouli stink out of my store!” <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udHAqyLb9xE">hollers an irate John Cusack</a> at Tim Robbins’ shambolic bohemian in High Fidelity. Such amusingly derisive remarks about the woody and herbaceous fragrance of Pogostemon cablin are emblematic of current Western attitudes. Patchouli, since the 1960s, has been considered a “hippy” fragrance, associated with marijuana use and poor hygiene. Brought to Western markets by backpackers traveling through Asia along the so-called “Hippy Trail” through Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and Nepal, the distinctive scent appealed to the flower-child preference for materials that were “of the Earth.” 

Madonna even <a href="https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=V2IeAAAAIBAJ&amp;sjid=hsgEAAAAIBAJ&amp;dq=madonna%20like-a-prayer&amp;pg=1858%2C4851133">scented the packaging</a> for her “Like a Prayer” album with patchouli in order to evoke the Age of Aquarius, so synonymous was the powerful odor with the 1960s and 70s. Though contemporary perfumers have revived it in new, artisanal forms, and consumption is still relatively high, modern sensibilities lean instead toward “fresh” scents composed using synthetics such as aldehydes, and, most notoriously, calone, an “aquatic”-smelling compound found in many perfumes today. The earthy complexity of patchouli and similar scents is now linked to dirt and drug use.

This wasn’t always the case. In fact, during the Victorian era, smelling of patchouli was considered the height of sophistication. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=1BxLAAAAMAAJ&amp;pg=PA247&amp;dq=PATCHOULI&amp;hl=en&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=0ahUKEwjrn7HXqOLeAhWGc98KHV-jC3k4HhDoAQhYMAk#v=onepage&amp;q=PATCHOULI&amp;f=false">One writer</a> described, with the restraint typical of the age, a woman who, “seized with a passion for patchouli,” proceeded to drench her clothing and furniture in the oil—only to become subject to “nervous attacks” as a result of her olfactory addiction. 

Though not everyone was so enthusiastic, a heady haze of patchouli certainly permeated upper class Victorian society. And like many of the conspicuously consumed goods of the period, the aroma had strong ties to colonialism in the East. Patchouli joined the ranks of Orientalist delights such as Chinese pottery due to its use as, of all things, a moth repellent. Shawls made of wool from Kashmir in India—later known as cashmere—were packed with the pungent leaves of the patchouli plant in order to deter fabric-eating moths during shipment from India to Europe. These shawls, which became de rigeur for ladies of a certain economic class, retained the powerful scent of their botanical protectors, thus associating the plant with wealth and indulgence. European manufacturers who sought to capitalize on this trend legitimized their counterfeit cashmere goods by infusing them with the scent of patchouli as well.

<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/patchouli.jpg"><img class="aligncenter wp-image-1862133" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/patchouli-1024x683.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="467" /></a>

In the East, patchouli, a member of the mint family, Lamiaceae, was long used medicinally. It is recorded as being grown in China by the 5th century AD and records exists of its use in Indian Ayurvedic medicine as well. Interestingly, though, the patchouli plant now cultivated for its oil is <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/279905001_Origin_of_the_name_'patchouli'_and_its_history">not found in the wild in either China or India</a>. P. cablin appears to be native to the Philippines. It is believed that the plant now known as patchouli was in fact different from the plants grown by the ancients in China and India. One possible candidate for the “original” patchouli is a plant from the genus Microtoena that has a similar scent. Agastache rugusa, the Korean mint, is another. Other plants in the genus Pogostemon, which contains some 130 species, do grow wild in other parts of Asia and these may also have been used prior to the introduction of the Philippine species. P. heyneanus, described as early as 1690, and native to India, is one likely candidate.

P. cablan was not introduced to India until 1834 and not described in the West until 1837. It was initially grouped in with other mints (Mentha) before being assigned to Pogostemon in the 1840s. Once it reached India, it quickly supplanted any other plants that might have been known as “pacchilai”, a Tamil word meaning “green leaf,” at least to Westerners. Cultivation, however, was mainly carried out in British-owned Malaysia—the so-called Straits Settlements. It’s association with the subcontinent testifies to the power of the British colonial trade enterprise, which funneled goods from all over what was then still called the Orient. Commercial growing in India did not commence until 1942 and did not occur intensively until 1962.

Today, some 90 percent of the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/ffj.3418">1,300-2,000 tons</a> of patchouli oil produced each year comes from Indonesia, with smaller amounts coming from China, India, Malaysia, Singapore, West Africa, and Vietnam. It is often planted in the gaps between other crops such as coconuts, coffee, and rubber. Strangely, the cultivated form does not flower and thus cannot be propagated by seed. It must instead be grown from stem cuttings. 

When harvested, patchouli leaves are first slightly fermented in the shade, and then dried. The fermentation process apparently improves the quality of the oil, which is typically extracted using steam distillation. The oil, which is concentrated in the trichomes, a type of glandular hair on the surface of the leaves, gains in complexity and smoothness as it ages, unlike many essential oils, which deteriorate. In addition to its applications in perfumery, it has been investigated for its <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0367326X11002231">anti-inflammatory</a> and <a href="http://www.docsdrive.com/pdfs/academicjournals/jps/2007/96-101.pdf%20https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/3d45/884db2f1a338dee285346abfef90a26e815d.pdf">anti-bacterial</a> properties, suggesting that its use in traditional medicine may have had some validity. Still, it is that powerful scent that most drives demand. Owed to a set of compounds called sesquiterpenes, produced by plants to protect themselves from herbivores, the scent of patchouli isn’t going anywhere. 

In 2015, E! hostess Giuliana Rancic came under fire for remarking that Disney star Zendaya must reek of patchouli and marijuana due to the fact that she was wearing a dread-locked wig. With bottles of haute patchouli now selling for hundreds of dollars, that may not have been as insulting as it seemed.

--

By <a href="mailto:rtpallardy@gmail.com">Richard Pallardy</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

The mysterious origins of patchouli

“Now get your patchouli stink out of my store!” hollers...

According to a food safety alert issued today by the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/">Centers for Disease Control and Prevention</a> (CDC), romaine lettuce may be contaminated by a particularly dangerous form of E. Coli and is not safe in any form. The CDC is urging people to throw out all romaine lettuce, even if they have already eaten some of it and have not become ill.

“CDC is advising that U.S. consumers not eat any romaine lettuce, and retailers and restaurants not serve or sell any, until we learn more about the outbreak,” the alert states.“This advice includes all types or uses of romaine lettuce, such as whole heads of romaine, hearts of romaine, and bags and boxes of precut lettuce and salad mixes that contain romaine, including baby romaine, spring mix, and Caesar salad.”

The same strain of E. Coli, Escherichia coli O157, has infected 32 people in 11 states and 18 others in Ontario and Quebec. In the United States, 13 people have been hospitalized and one patient has developed a type of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/environmental-pollutants-kidney-health/">kidney failure</a> called hemolytic uremic syndrome. 

The CDC specifically warns healthcare providers that antibiotics are not safe for patients who may have E. Coli O157.

“Some studies have shown that administering antibiotics to patients with E. coli O157 infections might increase their risk of developing hemolytic uremic syndrome, and the benefit of antibiotic treatment has not been clearly demonstrated,” the report states.

While experts have enough evidence to tie the E. Coli outbreak to romaine lettuce, the CDC warns that “no common grower, supplier, distributor, or brand of romaine lettuce has been identified.” 

Across the United States, the highest number of illnesses has been reported in California and Michigan. Individuals have also been affected in New Jersey, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Maryland, Wisconsin, and Connecticut. The CDC has a map of all the known cases which can be found <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/ecoli/2018/o157h7-11-18/map.html">here</a>.

The Food and Drug Administration has issued a statement that romaine lettuce will be tested for contamination all over the country.

“The quick and aggressive steps we’re taking today are aimed at making sure we get ahead of this emerging outbreak, to reduce risk to consumers, and to help people protect themselves and their families from this foodborne illness outbreak,” said FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb. “This is especially important ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday, when people will be sitting down for family meals.”

The CDC says that the investigation is ongoing and the advisory will be updated as soon as more information becomes available.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Romaine lettuce is not safe to eat in any form, CDC warns

According to a food safety alert issued today by the...

A research team led by <a href="https://www.uni-halle.de/?lang=en">Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg</a> (MLU) has developed the first-ever global vegetation database, which includes over 1.1 million complete lists of plant species from ecosystems across the planet. The tool will help experts better understand which species are usually found side-by-side and why. 

The database may also help to predict how plants all over the world will respond to <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/natural-climate-change-solutions/">climate change</a>. Whether they are small grasses or giant trees, all plants face the same challenges.

Study co-author Helge Bruelheide is a professor at MLU's Institute of Biology.

“For example, they have to find an efficient way to conduct photosynthesis in order to obtain the energy they need,” said Professor Bruelheide. “At the same time, they compete with neighboring plants for limited resources in the soil, like water and nutrients.”

There are currently around 390,000 known plant species, which have developed very different traits in response to their environmental surroundings. The varying properties include the size of the plant and the thickness and chemical makeup of its leaves. 

“These functional traits directly influence a plant's ecosystem function, such as how much biomass it produces or how much carbon dioxide it absorbs from the air,” said Professor Bruelheide.


Prior to this study, researchers have mainly focused on different combinations of these functional traits in individual plant species. However, as Professor Bruelheide pointed out, plant species rarely occur alone and are usually found in communities.

[caption id="attachment_1862068" align="aligncenter" width="700"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/database.png"><img class="wp-image-1862068" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/database-1024x396.png" alt="" width="700" height="271" /></a> Image Credit: Francesco Maria Sabatini / MLU[/caption]

For this reason, vegetation databases are needed that contain data on all of the plants growing at a specific location. The “sPlot” database that was produced by the MLU team combines many different vegetation datasets compiled by hundreds of researchers over the last few decades. 

“Each point in our database is a real place with precise coordinates and information about all the plant species that co-exist there,” said Professor Bruelheide. “It has enabled us to answer questions that nobody has been able to tackle before.”

The researchers tested the impact of global climate factors on the functional traits of plant communities. They were surprised to find that temperature and precipitation do not play a major role. 

“Surprisingly, these two macro-factors are not so important. Our analysis shows, for example, that plant communities are not consistently characterized by thinner leaves as the temperature increases - from the Arctic to the tropical rainforest,” said Professor Bruelheide. 

The researchers found a close link between climate variables and the phosphorus supply in the leaves, which is reflected in the ratio between nitrogen and phosphorus. This content ratio is a good indication of a plant’s nutritional status. 

According to Professor Bruelheide, the findings show that future estimates of plant production cannot be based solely on simple temperature-precipitation models.

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/natecolevol/">Nature Ecology &amp; Evolution</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 
Image Credit: Francesco Maria Sabatini / MLU

&nbsp;

Global vegetation database details plant life across the world

A research team led by Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU)...

Professor Konrad Rykaczewski of <a href="https://www.asu.edu/">Arizona State University</a> (ASU) studies wettability, or how water interacts with solids, to develop surfaces for industrial applications. After relocating to the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/cacti-birds-sonoran-desert/">Sonora Desert</a> six years ago, Professor Rykaczewski sprayed the plants in his front yard with water to investigate how they interacted with the droplets.

“It was the first time I'd lived in a desert, and I was fascinated by the flora and fauna,” said Professor Rykaczewski. “What I noticed about prickly pear cacti is that the new pads are superhydrophobic, but the ones a season older right below them are superhydrophilic. I wondered why.”

With a seed grant from ASU's Biomimicry Center, Professor Rykaczewski and a team of students began experimenting in the lab to characterize the microscopic 3D epidermal structure of prickly pears at dry and wet times of the year.

The study revealed that new cactus pads have a continuous waxy, hydrophobic surface, while the older pads are covered with a network of microcracks. Kenneth Manning, a doctoral student on the project who led the experimental work, explained that these microscopic cracks “go down all the way through the wax to the cell wall,” which is hydrophilic.

Using high-speed video, the researchers observed the water droplets bouncing off of the young cactus pads. Among the older pads, however, the microcracks exposed the inner hydrophilic surface which caused water droplets to hit and stick. “The skin is acting as a smart membrane,” said Manning. “As cacti dry out the cracks close, helping to preserve water.”

The findings of the study are now being used to inform Manning's latest research project in which he is developing a smart material for hazmat suits. The pores of the material will close in the presence of dangerous chemicals. Otherwise, the pores will remain open to allow for vapor and heat transfer out of the hazmat suit, which is a limitation of hazmat suits that are currently in use.

The suits will mimic the smart skins of prickly pear cactuses. “It's the same sort of change in the surface morphology,” said Manning.

The research will be presented at the <a href="https://www.aps.org/">American Physical Society</a>'s Division of Fluid Dynamics 71st Annual Meeting in Atlanta, Georgia.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Prickly pear cactus “smart” skin can improve hazmat suits

Professor Konrad Rykaczewski of Arizona State University (ASU) studies wettability,...

As the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/drug-overdose-epidemic-decades/">opioid crisis</a> looms, doctors are looking for more effective ways to treat pain – including, it seems, at the nerve-destroying chemical produced by a Moroccan plant called Euphorbia resinifera.

Also known as the resin spurge, the succulent produces a chemical called resiniferatoxin, which measures at 16 billion units on the Scoville scale. By comparison, jalapeños hit only about 2,500 to 8,000 units on the scale.

Eating Euphorbia resinifera is undoubtedly a terrible idea. Injecting the nerve-destroying chemical resiniferatoxin, however, might be a way to help people with chronic pain, without the potential health and addictive side effects of opioids.

That’s because resiniferatoxin, known as RTX, binds specifically to a molecule in nerves that sense pain: TRPV1. It’s the same molecule capsaicin affects.

“So when you put hot pepper on your tongue and it feels like it's burning, it's not because your tongue is on fire,” Dr. Tony Yaksh of <a href="https://ucsd.edu/">UC San Diego</a> told the newsmagazine <a href="https://www.wired.com/">Wired</a>. “It's simply activating the same sensory axons that would have been activated if your tongue had been on fire.

An anesthesiologist and pharmacologist, Yaksh has been studying how RTX can be used to treat pain. Because the nerve-destroying chemical binds only to TRPV1, it could potentially stop pain in its tracks without affecting function – doctors could treat knee pain without removing the ability to walk, or hand pain without killing the patient’s sense of touch.

Patients would need to be anesthetized before RTX is used, because the initial pain is excruciating, doctors studying the nerve-destroying chemical said. But after a couple of hours, the pain wears off and the treated area is deadened to pain for potentially months, until the damaged pain-sensing nerves regenerate.

“You give it once and it should last for an extended period of time because it is destroying the fibers,” Dr. Andrew Mannes of the <a href="https://www.nih.gov/">National Institutes of Health</a>. “But the other thing with this to remember is there's no reinforcement. There's no high associated with it, there's no addiction potential whatsoever.”

And treating tissue around the spinal column – not the spinal cord itself – can help people with widespread pain, such as patients in the last stages of cancer.

The NIH is <a href="https://clinicalstudies.info.nih.gov/ProtocolDetails.aspx?A_2015-N-0175.html">currently running trials</a> on the nerve-destroying chemical, which is not ready for release as a pain treatment yet. But if it makes it through the <a href="https://www.fda.gov/">Food and Drug Administration</a>’s approval process, it could become a potent treatment for people with chronic pain conditions like cancer and autoimmune disorders.

--

By <a href="mailto:kcathey@earth.com">Kyla Cathey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

Sometimes a nerve-destroying chemical can be a good thing

As the opioid crisis looms, doctors are looking for more...

With CO2 emissions, droughts, and heat waves all set to increase in the coming years, it is vital to understand how these changes will affect global crop yields. 

Since scientists can’t send seeds into the future and study the impacts on plant growth, models and projections allow researchers to take a brief glimpse in the future and see many different possible scenarios. 

However, projections and predictions can only go so far regarding realistically portraying what the future might hold for crops and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/earlier-springtime-hinders-plant-growth/">plant growth</a>. 

But what if, instead of zapping seeds into the future, you could bring future climate change to the present and study plant growth? 

Outdoor facilities called Free Air CO2 Enrichment (FACE) are working to do just that, as plants in FACE facilities are exposed to higher and higher levels of CO2. 

Researchers from the <a href="https://www.ucdavis.edu/">University of California Davis</a> and the <a href="https://www.southampton.ac.uk/">University of Southampton</a> in the United Kingdom examined FACE plants in a new study to understand how climate change might impact plant growth. 

The study was published in the journal Global Change Biology. 

The researchers analyzed plant growth at FACE facilities and compared those responses to plant growth from 11 naturally occurring high-CO2 springs where plants are exposed to high concentrations of CO2. 

“The results say, pretty surprisingly, that yes, all of those experiments we've done in FACE facilities are giving us a pretty good idea of how plants are likely to respond in the future,” said Gail Taylor, the corresponding author of the study. 

The team found that overall, plants respond positively to increased levels of CO2 which is promising for the future when emissions are projected to increase. 

However, the researchers say that emissions are not the only thing projected to increase, and if drought and temperatures also increase, plants will not do as well as their FACE counterparts. 

“If plants are exposed to higher temperatures and drought, there will likely be negative impacts, overall, so it's a tradeoff,” said Taylor. “But our analysis gives us confidence that plants are likely to keep responding positively to rising CO2 if no other climatic factors are limiting.”

FACE facilities can tell researchers a great deal about future plant performance, especially for cereal crops that provide a critical source of nutrients and carbohydrates to many countries around the world. 

“The analysis shows that it's possible to test new varieties of plants in FACE experiments before it is critical that they perform in the wider world,” said Taylor. “These ‘time-traveling’ plants that move forward and backwards across the decades can be extremely valuable in understanding how plants are likely to respond to the changes projected as a consequence of anthropogenic climate change.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: Gail Taylor/UC Davis

How will global crop yields be affected by increased CO2 levels?

With CO2 emissions, droughts, and heat waves all set to...

<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/velvet-ants-invincible/">Ants</a> have been feasting on plants for millions of years, but eventually, plants evolved a system of features that allowed them to use foraging ants to their advantage. 

Over time, plants have evolved to produce nectar that attracts ants and hollow thorns that ants can use for shelter. Sometimes, ants will even defend a plant against attack or help spread the plant’s seed. 

It’s a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fungus-farming-ants-work-hard-to-maintain-healthy-gardens/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">mutually beneficial relationship</a> and an example of how complex interactions between two organisms evolve over time. 

Researchers from the <a href="https://www.fieldmuseum.org/">Field Museum </a>conducted a study to understand this evolutionary relationship better and to find out which organism jumpstarted the interaction, the plant features or the ant foraging. 

“It was a chicken-and-egg question, whether things started with ants developing behaviors to take advantage of plants, or plants evolving structures to take advantage of ants,” said Rick Ree, a co-author of the study. 

The study was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and the researchers reviewed the genetic history of 1,700 species of ants and 10,000 plant genera.

[caption id="attachment_1861843" align="aligncenter" width="700"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/ants-plants.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1861843" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/ants-plants-1024x760.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="520" /></a> Image (c) Field Museum, Corrie Moreau[/caption]

Ants and plants go back to the age of the dinosaurs, but studying these ancient interactions is difficult because there exists so little fossil evidence of the relationship between plants and ants. 

“There are very few fossil records of these structures in plants, and they don't extend very far back in time. And there are tons of ant fossils, but they typically don't show these ant behaviors--we don't necessarily see an ant preserved in amber carrying a seed,” said Matt Nelsen, the lead author of the study.

To help remedy the gap in information, the researchers reviewed and analyzed DNA and ecological databases to trace back the genetic history of different plant features. 

Mapping the history of ant-friendly traits in plants, the researchers found that plants evolved these enticing features in response to ant foraging. It turns out that the ants have relied on plants longer than plants relied on ants.

“Some ants don't directly use plants for much, while others rely on them for food, foraging habitat, and nesting,” said Nelson. “We found that to become fully invested in plant-use, ants first began foraging arboreally, then incorporated plants into their diet, and then from there, they started nesting arboreally. While this stepwise shift towards an increased reliance on plants is intuitive, it still surprised us.” 

Plants seem to benefit more from this relationship, as the researchers found that ants that depend on plants are no better off, evolutionarily speaking, than other ant species that don't forage or nest in plants.

“We don't see parts of the ant family tree that includes ants relying on plants for food or habitat diversifying or growing any faster than those parts of the tree that lack these interactions,” said Nelsen. “This study matters because it provides a glimpse into how these widespread and complex interactions evolved.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: (c) Field Museum, Corrie Moreau

How ants and plants developed a mutually beneficial partnership

Ants have been feasting on plants for millions of years,...

When it comes to the effectiveness of echinacea in fighting colds, study outcomes have been very inconsistent. Some trials have found no benefits associated with the herbal supplements, while others have found that echinacea may help to boost immunity and prevent <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/susceptible-common-cold/">colds</a>. 

There are nine different species of echinacea, a flowering plant that can be found in the United States and Canada. The stems, leaves, flowers, and roots are used to make teas and supplements, which have been used as medicine for centuries. 

According to WebMD: “Extracts of echinacea do seem to have an effect on the immune system, your body's defense against germs. Research shows it increases the number of white blood cells, which fight infections.”

A 2015 study by researchers at <a href="https://www.mh-hannover.de/index.php?L=1">Hannover Medical School</a> in Germany found that echinacea could reduce the risk of colds by 35 percent. On the other hand, research from the <a href="https://nccih.nih.gov/">National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine</a> found no evidence that echinacea helps to fight colds in adults or children. 


The inconsistency among echinacea studies is likely due to the fact that there are so many different types and strengths of the supplements. 

Dr. Mark Moyad is the Director of Preventive and Alternative Medicine at the <a href="http://www.med.umich.edu/">University of Michigan Medical Center</a> in the Department of Urology. He is also one of the world's leading experts on dietary supplements.

Dr. Moyad told <a href="http://time.com/5446498/does-echinacea-work/?utm_source=emailshare&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=email-share-article&amp;utm_content=20181109">TIME</a> that echinacea may reduce the risk of a cold by around 10 to 20 percent. “This may seem underwhelming. But it’s not as if we have a lot of options to prevent colds - especially in people that get a lot of colds during the year.”


Dr. Moyad explained that while regular exercise, hand washing, and sleep are the best ways to prevent getting sick, echinacea may also provide some benefits without any major side effects. He recommends shopping for products that have been certified by quality control companies like NSF or USP to make sure that the supplement will be free of additives or contaminants. 

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Echinacea gets mixed reviews as a cold prevention therapy

When it comes to the effectiveness of echinacea in fighting...

As scientists prepare to fight the increasing effects of climate change, one area has posed difficulties: engineering drought-resistant plants that grow as well as their unaltered counterparts.

Enter Dr. Ana Caño-Delgado, a researcher with the <a href="https://www.cragenomica.es/">Center for Research in Agricultural Genomics</a>, who has discovered a way to use steroid hormone signaling to increase the growth and yield of drought-resistant crops.

"Drought is one of the most important problems in today's agriculture. So far, the biotechnological efforts that have been made to produce plants more resistant to drought have not been very successful because as a counterpart to an enhanced drought resistance there was always a decrease in plant growth and productivity,” Caño-Delgado said in a press release. “It seems that we have finally found a strategy that could be applied and we want to continue exploring it."

Her team’s study is the first to successfully increase plant tolerance to drought without sacrificing growth. The discovery comes after 15 years of study of brassinosteroids – plant steroids – in the herb Arabidopsis thaliana. 

They found that some plants that overexpressed a specific steroid receptor – BRL3 – and that their vascular tissue was more resistant to water shortages. These drought-resistant plants didn’t show the defects plants with other mutations had, the researchers said.

By modifying the signaling of steroid signaling in A. thaliana, the researchers created drought-resistant plants that still grow like their thirsty cousins. 

"We have discovered that modifying brassinosteroid signaling only locally in the vascular system, we are able to obtain drought resistant plants without affecting their growth," Caño-Delgado said.

The team joined with researchers from the United States, Japan and Europe to study how the mutation works. They found that arabidopsis plants with BRL3 produce more metabolites in their roots and aerial parts during normal irrigation. Under dry conditions, these metabolites protect the roots of the drought-resistant plants.

The researchers are now studying how their find might be adapted for agricultural plants, especially cereal grains.

The study has been published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/ncomms/">Nature Communications</a>.

--

By <a href="mailto:kcathey@earth.com">Kyla Cathey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

Image credit: <a href="https://www.cragenomica.es/">Center for Research in Agricultural Genomics</a>

Scientists work to enhance drought-resistant plants

As scientists prepare to fight the increasing effects of climate...

Farmers place a great deal of faith in mother nature when it comes to their crops, especially during the winter months when plants go dormant until warmer weather spurs growing and fruiting.

Take an apple orchard for example. Upon sensing a change in the weather, apple trees will start to shed their leaves in preparation for hibernation.

Over the winter, the trees lie dormant, sensing the weather and how much time has passed until the plant begins to speed up its metabolic process. Eventually, the tree will bear flowers and later apples, ripe for the picking. 

It is crucial for farmers to time the planting, dormancy, budding, and flowering of crops like grapes, peaches, and apples to ensure as big a yield.

However, some regions have more mild winters, and so the plants are not able to hibernate as efficiently and ass a result their growth period is out of sync.  This is not only costly for farmers, but it also makes pest control and harvests a challenge. 

Researchers from the <a href="http://www.jazanu.edu.sa/sites/en/Pages/Default.aspx">Jazan University</a> of Saudi Arabia developed a method to help influence synchronized plant growth by using plasma to manipulate and boost metabolic activity.

The method, if tested properly, could control crop dormancy, increase the cultivation of plants in temperate climates, and make plants more resistant to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/crops-adapt-climate-change/">climate change</a>. 

Plasma is a special kind of ionized gas, and it’s used for a wide range of applications including sterilizing medical implants. The researchers were curious if grape vines could be forced out of dormancy using plasmas. 

After successful tests in a lab setting, the researchers found that plasma causes the same oxidative stress that plants experience as they come out hibernation. 

“Some of the results from our first successful experiment were phenomenal, and we could not believe it was true,” said Zaka-ul-Islam Mujahid, a plasma physicist who worked on the study. 

Just a few minutes of plasma exposure and the buds were responding even better than plants in optimal cold conditions. 

The plasma worked well on different varieties of grapes, and the researchers say that plasma could be a greener and more effective replacement for hydrogen cyanamide and other chemical treatments sprayed on trees to trigger dormancy. 

These chemicals are often toxic and harmful to the plants themselves, which is why it's essential to find alternative solutions for synchronistic growing in temperate climates. 

The researchers say that further testing is needed in a field setting in order to assess the viability of plasma fully. 

“There is still a lot of work to test the effectiveness and feasibility,” said Mujahid. “We are in the process of figuring out the proper parameters to take it to the field, but it could be in use within just a few years.” 

Mujahid and his colleagues will present their work on plasma and plants at the <a href="http://apsgec.org/gec2018/">American Physical Society 71st Annual Gaseous Electronics Conference</a> this week in Portland, Oregon. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com </a>Staff Writer 

Image Credit: USDAgov via Wikimedia Commons

Using plasma to rouse plants out of hibernation

Farmers place a great deal of faith in mother nature...

ImageJ=1.50i

In an effort to create an environmentally friendly source of energy, researchers have now engineered bionic mushrooms that are capable of producing electricity. The <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/microdosing-mushrooms-solving-creativity/">mushrooms</a> are equipped with energy-producing bacteria and an electrode network.

This incredible breakthrough was achieved by researchers at the <a href="https://www.stevens.edu/">Stevens Institute of Technology</a>. The team, which was led by Manu Mannoor and Sudeep Joshi, set out to cultivate an artificial symbiosis between button mushrooms and cyanobacteria. 

In nature, there are many organisms that live closely together and interact with each other in a symbiotic relationship that is often mutually beneficial. 

For the investigation, the experts created a scenario in which a mushroom would provide shelter, moisture, and nutrients to bacteria that were 3D-printed onto the mushroom's cap. These bacteria would, in turn, supply energy through photosynthesis. 

Alongside the bacteria, graphene nanoribbons would be printed to capture electrons released by microbes during photosynthesis, triggering the production of bio-electricity.

To make the bionic mushroom a reality, the researchers used an electronic ink containing graphene nanoribbons and 3D-printed it onto the cap of a living mushroom. Next, a bio-ink containing cyanobacteria was printed onto the cap in a spiral pattern which intersected with the electronic ink at multiple sites. At these intersections, electrons could be transferred through the outer membranes of the bacteria to the conductive network of graphene nanoribbons.

When the researchers used light to activate cyanobacterial photosynthesis, a current of about 65 nanoAmps was generated. While this current is not even strong enough to power an electronic device, the experts said that an array of bionic mushrooms could generate enough current to light up an LED. 

The researchers are currently exploring ways  to generate higher currents using this system. They explained that this 3D-printing approach could be used to organize other bacterial species in complex arrangements to execute many useful functions, including bioluminescence. 

The study is published in the ACS journal <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/journal/nalefd">Nano Letters</a>. 

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: American Chemical Society

Scientists engineer bionic mushrooms that can produce electricity

In an effort to create an environmentally friendly source of...

The analysis of a skeleton from the 9th century suggests that the leaves of ferns were used as a medicinal treatment for conditions such as <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/susceptible-common-cold/">colds</a>, dandruff, and kidney stones in medieval times. The study was focused on the remains of a male between 21 and 30 years old, who had been buried in the ancient cemetery of Can Reiners on the Spanish Balearic Islands. 

The skeleton had traces of starch grains consistent with cereal plants, such as wheat and rye. More significantly, there was a collection of cells in which spores are formed from the underside of a fern leaf.


While there is no evidence to indicate that the fern leaf was part of the human diet at any point in time, there are written records dating as far back as the first century AD that the fern leaf was used to relieve the symptoms of certain ailments.

Folk medicine stories have described that the fern was used in various regions across Europe, but this study provides the first physical evidence in human remains, as well as the first identification of a particular species of fern.


Study co-author Dr. Elena Fiorin is an expert the Department of Archaeology at the <a href="https://www.york.ac.uk/">University of York</a>. 

“Through analysis of the dental calculus of the skeleton, which we believe dates back to the ninth or 10th century, we were able to determine that the cells were from fern plant, asplenium trichomanes, a common species that grows in rocky areas worldwide,” said Dr. Florin. 

“These ferns have been used by herbalists, surgeons, doctors, and other healers for centuries across Europe, but until now we have only had written documents that describe their use.”

“The finding from the dental remains of this skeleton show just how much information we can get from dental calculus analysis. It demonstrates that in this region of Spain, communities were aware of the medicinal properties of some plants and how to administer them to get the desired result.”

Historical texts show that the plants were used to cure dandruff, the common cold, kidney stones, and alopecia. There is also reference to the plant being used to stimulate menstrual flow in women.

The skeletal remains of the young male do not disclose what he was treated for specifically, but it is likely that he drank a fern leaf infusion to cure congestion, a condition of the skin, or a urinary tract infection. 

“The research demonstrates the use of ferns as healing plants in the Mediterranean during the Middle Ages,” said Dr. Fiorin. “We now have the potential to look at other dental remains for similar properties that might tell us more about the use of medicinal herbs in the past.”

“These ferns were employed, and are still used in Europe today, to cure a variety of diseases and through the archaeological record we can start to see how human beings have used the natural environment to assist in healthcare throughout our evolution.”

The study is published in the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10991212">International Journal of Osteoarchaeology</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Medieval people may have used fern leaves to treat colds and dandruff

The analysis of a skeleton from the 9th century suggests...

<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;



---



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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