We stroll past wheat, clover, and grass and see only the green half of the story. The other half - the roots - do the heavy lifting: anchoring plants, pulling up water and nutrients, and locking away carbon in the soil.



Yet because roots are hidden, scientists have spent decades using muddy, labor-intensive methods to guess their size and spread, often missing the finest, most active threads. According to a team of researchers at <a href="https://international.au.dk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Aarhus University</a>, that guesswork can finally stop.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-high-tech-root-census">A high-tech root census</h2>



“It's a bit like studying marine ecosystems without ever being able to dive,” said senior author Henrik Brinch-Pedersen, a professor in the Department of Agroecology.



Until now, the standard approach was to carve out big blocks of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/world-soil-day-2024-protecting-our-planets-lifeline/">soil</a>, wash away the dirt, sort and dry what remained, and weigh the roots. It’s slow, destructive, and misses the fine roots that absorb nutrients and release carbon to the soil.



The new approach swaps spades for droplet digital PCR (ddPCR), a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/hidden-chapter-in-human-evolution-revealed-through-genetics/">DNA</a> technology that partitions a teaspoon of soil into tens of thousands of microscopic droplets. Each droplet then answers a yes/no question: Does it contain plant DNA with a specific genetic signature?



The team uses a marker called ITS2 - think of it as a barcode that differs among species - so a single run can reveal not just that roots are present, but whose roots they are. Crucially, it also shows how much underground biomass each species contributes.



“It’s a bit like giving the soil a DNA test,” Brinch-Pedersen said. “We can suddenly see the hidden distribution of species and biomass without digging up the whole field.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-mapping-roots-with-precision">Mapping roots with precision</h2>



Because ddPCR counts DNA molecules across thousands of droplets, it can quantify roots that would otherwise be pulverized or rinsed away. 



That makes it possible to map root communities at high resolution in living fields, pastures, and mixed-species grasslands and to repeat measurements over time without disturbing the site.



The payoff spans several fronts. For climate research, it lets scientists measure how much <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/planting-diverse-crops-traps-carbon-and-boosts-soil-health/">carbon</a> different crops actually push belowground - data that’s been frustratingly hard to pin down but is essential for credible climate accounting in agriculture.



For plant breeding, the digital DNA method creates a path to select varieties that invest more in roots without sacrificing grain or forage aboveground.



And for biodiversity science, the technology finally illuminates the underground dynamics in species mixes - who’s competing, who’s complementing - insights that were “almost impossible before,” Brinch-Pedersen noted.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-roots-matter-for-the-climate">Roots matter for the climate</h2>



We tend to picture wind turbines and EVs when we think of climate solutions, but roots are a vast, quiet carbon pump. 



As plants photosynthesize, some of the captured carbon flows belowground into roots and the surrounding soil. Depending on the crop, soil type, and management, a fraction of that carbon can persist for decades or even centuries.



Farmers and policymakers talk about “soil carbon sequestration,” but without precise measurement tools it’s been hard to document gains in ways that stand up to scrutiny. A rapid, species-resolved root assay changes that equation.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-dna-test-in-soil">DNA test in soil</h2>



In practice, researchers collect small soil cores, extract DNA, and run ddPCR with species-specific probes keyed to the ITS2 barcode. The number of positive droplets scales with <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/deep-rooted-crops-can-significantly-improve-soil-carbon-storage/">root biomass</a> for that species in that sample. 



Because the test targets DNA directly in soil, it captures fine roots and root fragments as well as thicker roots that are tough to wash and weigh.



There are, however, limits. Close relatives can be tricky to tell apart when their barcodes are nearly identical - ryegrass and Italian ryegrass hybrids, for instance, can blur the signal. 



And the method recognizes only what it’s trained to find. Researchers must validate a probe for each species, so expanding the “DNA library” is both the hurdle and the goal.



“For us, the most important thing is that we have shown it can be done,” Brinch-Pedersen said. “Our vision is to expand the library so we can measure many more species directly in soil samples.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-rapid-answers-from-soil">Rapid answers from soil</h2>



Speed is the other advantage. Traditional root studies hinge on days to weeks of field and lab work per site. The ddPCR method turns around results in hours, making it practical to scale from a few experimental plots to entire farms, seasons, and regions.



That opens the door to experiments that were previously unrealistic. Researchers can compare cover crops for their belowground carbon contributions across soil types. 



They can track how drought shifts root allocation among species in a pasture. They can also screen hundreds of breeding lines for deeper, denser root systems.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-plants-that-work-smarter">Plants that work smarter</h2>



Brinch-Pedersen sees a straight line from measurement to design. If breeders can quantify underground investment as easily as they count kernels or measure protein, they can begin to select for <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/tree-crops-a-path-to-feeding-the-world-and-saving-the-planet/">crops</a> that are not only high-yielding but also high-sequestering. These are plants that do more of the climate work for us.



The same logic applies to mixtures. With species-level root data, agronomists can compose plant communities that pack more carbon belowground while maintaining forage or grain output above.



The bigger picture is simple: half a plant lives out of sight, and that half shapes soil health, farm resilience, and the climate. With a “DNA test for dirt,” researchers can finally watch that hidden half at work - no shovels required.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://academic.oup.com/plphys/article/198/3/kiaf276/8173641?login=false" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Plant Physiology</a>.



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Digging into plant roots with DNA - no shovels required

We stroll past wheat, clover, and grass and see only the green half of the story. The other half - the roots - do the heavy lifting: anchoring plants, pulling up water and nutrients, and locking away carbon in the soil. Yet because roots are hidden, scientists have spent decades using muddy, labor-intensive methods to guess their size and spread, often missing the finest, most active threads. According to a team of researchers at Aarhus University, that guesswork can finally stop. A high-tech root census “It's a...

A new study published by <a href="https://www.cell.com/">Cell Press</a> has identified a species of phytoplankton that cause changes in the properties of clouds. According to the researchers, Emiliania huxleyi and a virus that is closely associated with it can influence cloud formation and movement. 

Study first author Miri Trainic is an Earth scientist at the <a href="http://www.weizmann.ac.il/pages/">Weizmann Institute of Science</a>.

“Our aim is to better understand the effects that marine ecology can have on atmospheric properties like radiation and cloud formation,” said Trainic. “This slim air-sea interface controls fluxes of energy, particles, and gases, so if we want to understand climate and climate change, we must understand how microscopic biological activity in the ocean alters this balance.”

When E. huxleyi is infected by the virus EhV, pieces of its shell that are made of chalky calcium carbonate are released into the air. These shell fragments then become part of a class of marine emissions called seaspray aerosols, or SSAs.

“SSAs are particles emitted into the atmosphere when bubbles in the ocean burst,” explained study co-author Ilan Koren. “They cover 70% of the atmosphere and can serve as cloud condensation nuclei, be surfaces for chemical reactions, and significantly contribute to the Earth radiation budget (the balance of how much solar energy Earth absorbs and how much it emits back into space) because they are very reflective.”


When the team observed a model of this process in the lab, they discovered that the volume of SSA emissions from E. huxleyi as well as the particles themselves were much larger than what was expected. The unanticipated abundance of bigger particles would be much more reflective and have a stronger influence on cloud properties.

“Although E. huxleyi is extremely abundant, responsible for algal blooms covering thousands of kilometers, we didn't expect to measure such a large flux of SSAs emitted from them into the air. Plus, we expected no larger than a 1-micron diameter but measured 3 and 4 microns,” said Trainic. “Before this work, we didn't know that such large particles would be so abundant in the marine-atmospheric size distribution.”


The experts were also surprised by the complex structure of the SSAs.


“What we found was that we don't need to look at just the size of the SSA, but also its density,” said Weizmann environmental scientist Assaf Vardi. “These ones are shaped like parachutes; they have an intricate structure of calcium carbonate with lots of space within it, which extends the particle's lifetime in the atmosphere."

The team plans to continue this research in regions such as Norway, where the <a href="https://www.earth.com/image/phytoplankton-blooms-across-lake-okeechobee/">phytoplankton blooms</a> and their SSA emissions can be observed in their natural environment.

“This study focuses on one species and its virus, but in a broader context it can show that the state of the atmosphere actually depends on the daily interactions in the seawater,” said Trainic. “Now we must do our best to further understand that relationship.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/iscience/home">iScience</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Phytoplankton can influence cloud formation and movement

A new study published by Cell Press has identified a...

The evolution of life on Earth is classically envisioned as a tree. 

In this model, species diverge from their parent organisms and head off on their own paths, never to fraternize with their progenitors, or any of their other offshoots, again. This calcified and rigid view of the evolutionary process became dogma in the works of scientists such as Ernst Mayer. In the 1940s, Mayer argued that the definition of a species rested on its inability to breed successfully with other species and that hybridization was usually an accidental and evolutionarily useless event. Nonetheless, the notion that hybridization plays a role in evolutionary processes has been the subject of speculation for ages—it was worthy of a chapter in Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species. 

A large body of research now supports the notion that not only does hybridization play a significant role in evolution, but in some cases it may serve as a primary driver of the process. Hybridization is thought to occur in 25% of plants and 6-12% of animals worldwide per a <a href="https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/3e10/a88eb6547b66158c1d2aaaf1dafd094ce7f9.pdf">2006 study</a>. Remarkably, in some environments, hybrid tendencies are even more prevalent. Some 25% of all plant species in Great Britain hybridize with at least one other species and 75% of British ducks are known to mate with other species of duck. (British ducks aren’t the only ones who step out on their conspecifics; they’re <a href="http://www.10000birds.com/hybrid-mallards.htm">notoriously promiscuous</a> worldwide.) 

Though on a short timescale, cross-specific, or introgressive, mating is somewhat rare, on a longer timescale it has been shown to be quite common. And even though only a few individuals in a population may mate outside the population, the genetic transfer can have major effects down the line if the genes from the other species provide adaptive benefits to the species as a whole. This suggests that life is best envisioned as reticulated rather than terminally branching. That is: it is a net or web rather than a tree. Branches diverge and then converge again, as in the delicate fretwork of a lichen or bryozoan.

This process is most visible and perhaps most important during disruptive events, such as the formation of islands and lakes, where enormous stretches of ecosystem are uncolonized. So, too, when overlapping species hybridize at the edge of their respective ranges, novel gene combinations allow adaptive radiation into new territories, often quite rapidly. 

A <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/David_Rosenthal/publication/10622009_Major_Ecological_Transitions_in_Wild_Sunflowers_Facilitated_by_Hybridization/links/0fcfd508156d868458000000/Major-Ecological-Transitions-in-Wild-Sunflowers-Facilitated-by-Hybridization.pdf">2003 study on sunflowers</a> in the southern United States demonstrated that the harshest habitats were occupied mainly by ancient hybrids of sunflowers that occurred at the edges of differing ecosystems. While the parent species were unable to grow in salt marshes or dry sandy deserts, the new gene combinations in the hybrids allowed them to radiate into these difficult environments. 

Most <a href="https://academic.oup.com/jhered/article/96/1/4/2187599">British dog roses</a> have been found to have hybrid origin due to the presence of tetraploid eggs and haploid pollen, which indicate separate parent species early in their lineage. This has also happened with cichlids in Lake Malawi and Lake Tanganyika and with sculpins in Lake Baikal. The few initial species radiated into hundreds, assisted by frequent backcrosses to parent and related species. 

Interestingly, this still happens. A <a href="https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/a409/42c3254ad715326f7acb931932779b8a4eb5.pdf">2004 study</a> found that a hybrid between a species of cichlid from one end of Lake Malawi introduced to the other end hybridized with a species native to the area. The hybrids colonized the perimeter of an entire island. Even Darwin’s finches, which are thought to have diverged perhaps 2-3 million years ago in response to their sui generis island home, are thought to have developed partially through hybridization at the overlap zones between the various species. And hybridization <a href="https://artsci.uc.edu/content/dam/artsci/departments/biology/Docs/publications/2005GrantPetrenAmNat.pdf">continues to happen in the Galapagos to this day</a>. 

Newer disruptions may also cause hybrid events. Species of butterfly fish around Christmas Island were <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/ece3.83">found to hybridize</a> with formerly allopatric, or geographically separated species brought into contact by <a href="http://rsbl.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/5/2/258.short">changing temperatures</a> and currents. 

One of the more <a href="http://rsbl.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/early/2009/09/23/rsbl.2009.0575.short">sensational instances of recent hybrid evolution</a> has happened within the last 90 years in the United States and Canada. <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/eastern-coyotes-wolves/">Coyotes</a>, once mostly restricted to the Great Plains, moved up through Canada, where they hybridized with wolves, and then colonized the eastern seaboard, where native wolves were largely extirpated. The “eastern coyote” is actually a hybrid between wolves and coyotes. This is evidenced both in its morphology, which is intermediate between coyotes and wolves, and in its behavior. The eastern coyote hunts in packs like wolves and takes down large prey such as deer, unlike the western coyote, which is largely solitary and hunts small mammals and birds. Though larger than the western coyote, it is smaller than a wolf. Sexual dimorphism is also more wolf-like in the eastern coyote; western coyotes are not nearly as sexually dimorphic. The eastern coyote filled the niche abandoned by wolves on the east coast when they were eliminated from the area early in the 19th century. The rapid occupation of abandoned niches like this is known as hybrid swarming. 

The phenomenon of hybrid evolution has major implications for humans as well. Some of our food species have evolved through hybrid evolution, notably in certain varieties of cacao. And other species of economic important have hybrid origins as well, <a href="https://watermark.silverchair.com/mbe0311.pdf?token=AQECAHi208BE49Ooan9kkhW_Ercy7Dm3ZL_9Cf3qfKAc485ysgAAAbIwggGuBgkqhkiG9w0BBwagggGfMIIBmwIBADCCAZQGCSqGSIb3DQEHATAeBglghkgBZQMEAS4wEQQMEtcJlLlda5ejKHm4AgEQgIIBZZCSC1DCXc582DxBUvFx-BoXNZsJqpe5geAfosCpxjjQuPN3SJqZkWyHt8S9UJ5XVJGCZ3m4wjrTtX7P_7sQRLolaI3NO26S3JjoEZrlOuSxSmf_xA_1Y-SJYKp1f56wXS5jGrVtbXq1j-MlbVog_tl24mtFTv6aXLVWcoAP-5Z5bYQ1EL0X0QNwSRRPHgnKGfzjwj6nbtfRW4U2FUvTFxzZmCsL-vI_XO2lMPiCe7v5DQ5wRk0HG4nftvTHylw-k-iujhFqBm_XW35rAf0e93JpjqbsAkq44bquPoW7gjSGq8r_j_z92MEURjkKRRt2c72rjxFxjMNeHGOnskgupt2Jhx1ij-Fs_S9nd7BCvowerkLW3TEoVXXPCi6_6ESr8UQSzhCgo-27qCGS3Vf55u3kOw_VlUfPQSlofzu0b1VlSFh7TXcc2jiURwm6tCIAkUQFEJmiU7q84NKfogoQuO3E7IsMTQ">notably tobacco</a>. And we’ve caused hybrid evolution ourselves through the introduction of non-native species that may hybridize with natives and take over entire ecosystems, and through climate change, which has brought previously allopatric species back into contact. The so-called pizzly, a hybrid between a grizzly bear and a polar pear, is a great example. Polar bears evolved from grizzly bears. While once separated by their ecological niches, warming climates have brought polar bears further south and grizzlies further north. Due to their remaining genetic similarities, they are still able to breed. 

We as a species have hybrid origins as well. Homo sapiens is known to have interbred with two other supposedly distinct species, Neanderthals and the Denisovans. This is mirrored in the behavior of other primates, which often interbreed at so-called hybrid zones. Studies of these zones and their hybrid products are invaluable in analyzing possible hominid hybrids in the fossil record. Because fossil bones may not be useful in genetic analysis, morphological characteristics become important in discerning possible hybrids. Hybrid zones between the various species of baboon have <a href="https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/c465/5dc1f912c5ad76b127f0fbf0bb1679eb2a94.pdf">proven useful in this regard</a>. They have shown that even in cases of hybridization, morphology may or may not be a useful indicator. Sometimes, hybrids favor one parent or the other. 

Genetic studies have determined definitively that modern day humans express genes from both Neanderthals and Denisovans. So, ponder this: what is a human? Amd what is a species?

--

By <a href="mailto:rtpallardy@gmail.com">Richard Pallardy</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

The net of life: Hybridization and evolution

The evolution of life on Earth is classically envisioned as...

Researchers from <a href="https://www.psu.edu/">Pennsylvania State University</a> have discovered that corals and the photosynthetic algae that enable them to construct reefs have maintained relationships that are much older and more complex than what was previously realized. 

According to the study, these coral-algal partnerships have endured climate change events in the past, and many will survive the challenges of global warming that we face today.


“Past estimates placed the initiation of these symbiotic relationships at 50 to 65 million years ago,” said study co-author Professor Todd LaJeunesse. 

“Our research indicates that modern corals and their algal partners have been entwined with each other for much longer - since the time of the dinosaurs, approximately 160 million years ago. During their long existence, they have faced severe episodes of environmental change, but have managed to bounce back after each one.”


The micro-algae, which are commonly called zooxanthellae, live inside the cells of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/corals-rising-ocean-temperatures/">corals</a> and allow them to acquire energy from sunlight. This ultimately enables the corals to build massive reefs that are invaluable to some marine ecosystems.

“The fossil record shows that today's reef-building corals exploded in diversity around 160 million years ago,” said Professor LaJeunesse. 

“Finding that the origin of the algal symbionts corresponds to major increases in the abundance and diversity of reef-building corals implies that the partnership with Symbiodiniaceae was one of the major reasons for the success of modern corals.”

The team used genetic evidence such as DNA sequences and genome comparisons to calculate the approximate age of the micro-algae. They also used classical morphological techniques. 

The study revealed that, in addition to being older, the algae family is far more diverse than what has been assumed.

“Presently, numerous algal lineages, called clades, are lumped into just one genus,” said study co-author John Parkinson of <a href="https://oregonstate.edu/">Oregon State University</a>. “Using genetic techniques, we provide evidence that the family actually comprises at least 15 genera, including hundreds and possibly thousands of species worldwide.”

Parkinson explained that some micro-algal symbionts have characteristics that make them more resilient to changes in the environment than others.

“The updated naming scheme offers a clear framework to identify different symbionts,” said Parkinson. “Accurate taxonomy (the identification and naming of species) is a critical step in any biological research.” 

“This is especially true for studies attempting to understand how the partnership between reef corals and their micro-algae, which are needed for survival and growth, may adapt to climate change. For example, when many corals are exposed to high temperatures they lose their symbiotic algae and die. Others are far more tolerant of heat, and some of this resilience is based on the species of algae they have.”

Parkinson pointed out that the team has been working for almost a decade to modernize coral symbiont taxonomy in an effort to better inform researchers and advance future research on corals.

“Until now, studies on the physiology and ecology of these algae attempted to compare apples to apples,” said Parkinson. “Considering how different some of them are, we now recognize that often we were comparing apples to oranges. These changes will help researchers to think more accurately about the comparisons they are making in experiments.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/home">Current Biology</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: Robin T. Smith

Algae that support corals have been around since the dinosaurs

Researchers from Pennsylvania State University have discovered that corals and...

Since the 1940s, hallucinogens have been closely studied in the United States, as scientists attempt to determine their potential healing benefits. Unfortunately, the quantity of research out there took a hit after psychedelics were outlawed in the 1960s. But there is hope on the horizon for those that believe in the benefits of psychedelic drugs. 

The drug MDMA – often referred to as ecstasy – is beginning its third and final phase of clinical trials, as researchers seek approval from the <a href="https://www.fda.gov/">Food and Drug Administration</a> (FDA) for the use of MDMA to treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Research presented at the annual convention of the <a href="http://www.apa.org/">American Psychological Association</a> points towards the potential benefits of psychedelic drugs, particularly for treating disorders such as social anxiety and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/magic-mushrooms-depression-emotions/">depression</a>. One study at this convention found that symptoms of social anxiety in autistic adults showed significant and long-last reductions when individuals were given two treatments of pure MDMA, along with ongoing therapy. 

“Social anxiety is prevalent in autistic adults and few treatment options have been shown to be effective,” says Alicia Danforth, PhD, of the <a href="https://labiomed.org/">Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute</a> at the Harbor UCLA Medical Center, who conducted the study. “The positive effects of using MDMA and therapy lasted months, or even years, for most of the research volunteers.”

In a study that had 159 participants report on their past use of hallucinogens, researchers found that hallucinogen use was related to higher levels of spirituality, which improved emotional stability and led to fewer symptoms of anxiety, depression, and disordered eating. “This study reinforces the need for the psychological field to consider a larger role for spirituality in the context of mainstream treatment because spiritual growth and a connection to something greater than the self can be fostered,” says Adele Lafrance, PhD, from <a href="https://laurentian.ca/">Laurentian University</a>.

One study found that ayahuasca could help to decrease symptoms of depression and addiction, and help people cope with trauma. “We found that ayahuasca also fostered an increase in generosity, spiritual connection and altruism," says Clancy Cavnar, PhD, of <a href="https://neip.info/">Núcleo de Estudos Interdisciplinares sobre Psicoativos</a>.

Yet another study showed that psilocybin could provide significant and lasting decreases in anxiety and distress for people suffering from life-threatening cancer. When it was combined with psychotherapy, psilocybin helped the study’s 13 participants better cope with loss and existential distress. Participants also reported that they developed a new understanding of dying, and better reconciled their feelings about death. “Participants made spiritual or religious interpretations of their experience and the psilocybin treatment helped facilitate a reconnection to life, greater mindfulness and presence, and gave them more confidence when faced with cancer recurrence,” explains Gabby Agin-Liebes, BA, of <a href="https://www.paloaltou.edu/">Palo Alto University</a>.

Overall, this symposium showed the numerous and diverse ways that psychedelics can improve the lives of people suffering from everything from depression and anxiety to cancer. The presenters at the convention stressed the need for more research in this field in order to better enhance our understanding of these substances.

--

By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

The potential healing powers of psychedelic drugs

Since the 1940s, hallucinogens have been closely studied in the...

Dinosaurs may have stopped and smelled the roses as far back as the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/flowers-earth/">mid-Cretaceous period, </a>according to a new study. 

Flowers emit fragrances that are often used in perfumes and essential oils and we as humans have enjoyed these scents throughout our history. 

Now, a new study conducted by an entomologist from <a href="https://oregonstate.edu/">Oregon State University</a> shows that before flowers used colorful petals to attract pollinators they used scents, and these attractive scents may have been appealing to dinosaurs just as they are to humans today. 

George Poinar, an entomologist, and his son Greg, a fragrance collector, examined the tissues of extinct Cretaceous flowers encased in amber and found that the flowers were using the same chemical compounds to attract pollinators 100 million years ago that they do now. 

“I bet some of the dinosaurs could have detected the scents of these early flowers,” said Poinar. “In fact, floral essences from these early flowers could even have attracted these giant reptiles.”

Today, flowers use both scent and color to attract pollinators but during the time of the dinosaurs, the flowers had to rely on their scents alone to ensure that the stigma of the plant was fertilized. 

Because fossilized flowers don’t smell, the researchers instead analyzed the tissues of extinct flowers to see how tissues responsible for scents had evolved over time. 

Poinar and his son discovered that the scent tissues of ancient Cretaceous flowers, some of which had been trapped in amber for 20 to 30 million years, were structurally similar to the scent tissues of modern flowers. 

What's more, some of the fossil flowers were in the process of emitting scents that were particularly attractive to bees. 

“It's obvious flowers were producing scents to make themselves more attractive to pollinators long before humans began using perfumes to make themselves more appealing to other humans,” said Poinar.

The results of the study help provide insight into early plant life and that given the fact that flowers were using scents millions of years ago, it’s very likely that dinosaurs were just as enamored of flowers as we are today. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Study shows that dinosaurs enjoyed fragrant flowers just like us

Dinosaurs may have stopped and smelled the roses as far...

New research by scientists at the <a href="https://www.ucdavis.edu/">University of California Davis</a> has found that lichen communities, which are essential to life across conifer forests, are not always returning after wildfires. According to the study, lichen have still not recovered in some western regions many years after the land was scorched by <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mendocino-complex-fire-largest/">fires</a>.

Lichen forms leaf-like layers over tree bark and rocks, providing food and critical resources for deer, birds, and many other species. Lichen also makes an important contribution to the nutrient cycle, as it helps to facilitate nitrogen fixation in the soil.

Study lead author Jesse Miller is a postdoctoral scholar in the Department of Environmental Science and Policy at UC Davis.


“Lichen are beautiful, ecologically important, are all around us and tell us important things about the environment,” said Miller. “But even if you don't notice lichens, you would notice the consequences in ecosystems when they are lost.”

The researchers sampled lichen communities in about 100 study sites across the Sierra Nevada region of California. Between four and 16 years prior to the research, wildfires had burned in and around the plots with different levels of severity.

Lichen communities were found to be largely unaffected by low-severity fires, which indicates that natural wildfires as well as prescribed burns do not sacrifice lichen diversity.

On the other hand, sites where wildfires had been more intense were found to have significantly less lichen diversity or abundance. In burned areas where most of the trees had died, lichen were nearly all gone and had not yet returned in as many as 16 years.

The researchers explained that the recovery of lichen is probably limited by the loss of tree canopy after the fire. The dry microclimate that is left behind after a fire is not conducive to lichen growth. Therefore, lichen communities will not likely return across burned regions of the Sierra Nevada forests until mature trees reappear and the forest canopy is restored.

"If the species could keep pace with the rate of climate change, the effects of fire might not be so bad,” said Miller. “But the concern is they might not. These fires happen so quickly and in such a large area, they could cause species ranges to contract faster than they are expanding.”

The trend of more intense fires and increasingly dry forests could cause irreparable harm to lichen diversity, which would impact nutrient cycling and food-chain interactions across forest ecosystems.

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/13652486">Global Change Biology</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: Jesse Miller/UC Davis

Lichen communities destroyed by wildfires are not returning

New research by scientists at the University of California Davis...

A new study from the <a href="https://www.ornl.gov/">Oak Ridge National Laboratory</a> has found that hotter temperatures cause peatland plants to develop earlier and grow for longer periods of time. The findings may ultimately improve the accuracy of global forest models.

The researchers found that warmer weather accelerated spring greening among mature trees, shrubs, and mosses. Hotter temperatures also delayed color changes in the fall.


“This is the first time we've been able to confirm the response of vegetation to this range of temperatures, which exceed what can be found in the historical record,” explained study co-author Andrew Richardson of <a href="https://nau.edu/">Northern Arizona University</a>. “We did not foresee the major role that temperature plays in extending plant activity in the fall.”


The analysis was based on the Spruce and Peatland Responses Under Changing Environments (SPRUCE) study, which is a unique ecosystem experiment developed by the <a href="https://www.energy.gov/">Department of Energy</a>. The greenness of plants was measured over three years using direct observations and digital repeat photography. 

The study revealed that elevated temperatures prompted plant activity - even as exposure to sunlight decreased in the fall. Plants in the warmest study regions, which were heated by 16.2 degrees Fahrenheit above ambient temperatures, remained green and functional up to six weeks longer. 

The warmest vegetation also lost its protection against cold earlier in the spring, leaving plants vulnerable to leaf and stem damage in the event of a frost.

“SPRUCE has given us the opportunity to achieve a fair glimpse of alternative environmental futures that can't be observed through historical records," said SPRUCE coordinator and study co-author Paul Hanson.

The extension of the growing season could greatly affect the carbon cycle, and further research will be needed to establish how this phenomenon may influence <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/rice-lose-nutritional-value-co2/">carbon dioxide</a> emissions.

“These SPRUCE results demonstrate the importance of direct experiments for expanding our understanding of peatland carbon cycling processes,” said Hanson.

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/nature/">Nature</a>.

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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

Rising temperatures extend the growing season for some plants

A new study from the Oak Ridge National Laboratory has...

For years now, conservationists in Africa have been promoting the use of large dogs like Anatolian Shepherds by goat herders and shepherds to keep cheetahs at bay without killing the cats.  In a lot of ways, the dogs are a success helping mitigate the often fraught tension between agriculture and wild predators. According to a progress report from <a href="https://cheetah.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/CCF.Annual.Report.2017_public_web.pdf">Cheetah Conservation Fund</a>, that organization alone has placed 589 livestock guarding dogs in Namibia and elsewhere in Africa.  As of December 2017, Cheetah Conservation Fund reported that 174 of the dogs they’ve placed are still working dogs.      

In his book Monster of God, author David Quammen also visited areas in Eastern Europe where dogs defend livestock from brown bears. <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/newswires/news/business/imported-guard-dogs-deployed-part-wolf-sheep-study-article-1.3867011">New York Daily News</a> also reported this year on studies in the western U.S. to gauge possible success using guard dogs to protect livestock from wolves as well as grizzlies.  The project is still young and the overall success in terms of livestock survival and reducing friction between ranchers and wolves is still uncertain. 

When it comes to conflict between agriculture and wildlife it’s not just predators like wolves, cheetahs and bears killing livestock.  Birds are often the unwanted pilferers of agricultural products. According to a <a href="https://www.aphis.usda.gov/wildlife_damage/nwrc/publications/13pubs/anderson132.pdf">USDA</a> study, crop damage from birds costs $104 per hectare of cherries in Oregon to $7267 per hectare of Washington Honeycrisp apples.  The 2013 USDA study found that overall bird damage over five states and five different crops surveyed was estimated to be $189 million

Clearly birds can do enormous amounts of damage to crops and it costs.  The costs are either taken on by the farmer or perhaps passed down to consumers in the grocery store.  Traditionally farmers may have turned to guns or scarecrows to keep birds at bay but recently new innovative ideas have turned up.  Flagging tape is tied to and around crops in an effort to scare birds away, loud noises are sometimes played. A company called <a href="http://www.birdgard.com/bird-control-for-agriculture/">Bird Gard</a> has an automated system that plays randomized noises to scare birds away.  Strangely another company, <a href="https://birdcontrolgroup.com/agriculture/">Bird Control Group</a> produces lasers designed to scare birds away, saying that birds perceive a flash of laser light as an oncoming predator and flee.  Basically a motion sensor detects birds and triggers a harmless laser beam to be fired at the bird, scaring it away from valuable crops.  

Looking at the amount of different products designed to scare birds away from crops, it’s hard to imagine that any of them work all the time.  If one product was 100 percent effective, it seems like it would dominate the market and quickly be adopted universally by farmers. 

One newer way to fight bird depredation of orchards and other agriculture is to make alliances with natural predators.  <a href="https://www.ehn.org/back-to-basics-tackling-farm-pests-with-predator-birds-2546940909.html">Environmental Health News</a> reported that farmers in the US have added nest boxes to their properties to encourage American Kestrels (Falco sparverius) to nest near farms, orchards and vineyards.  American Kestrels are natural predators to song birds that sometimes devastate crops.  Kestrels are America’s smallest and most common falcon; I’ve seen them sitting on powerlines along highways driving across Nebraska, little more than predatory robins and almost as common.  Kestrel numbers have declined in recent years though and any help they can get from farmers is a needed benefit. When the New Zealand Falcon was reintroduced to areas with vineyards, scientists found that there was a 95% reduction of grape loss compared to vineyards without falcons.

There are even companies that deal in using raptors to control bird crop destruction.  <a href="http://www.falconforce.com/raptors.html">Falcon Force</a> is one such company that uses falconry to protect cherries and other crops from hungry birds.

Other birds can benefit crops as well.  One study showed that luring Great Tits (Parus major), a type of bird into an orchard with nest boxes, decreased caterpillar damage to apples by 50%.  Research with bluebirds in California vineyards has shown promise in reducing leaf eating insects simply by introducing nest boxes.  

The ways in which animals help or have helped people in agriculture are numerous.  Donkeys are good at keeping coyotes and wolves away from any threatened livestock like goats and sheep.  According to an article from <a href="https://www.grit.com/animals/livestock/livestock-guardians-ze0z1603zcbru">Grit</a>:

“In one survey, 59 percent of Texas producers who use guardian donkeys rated them as good or fair for deterring coyote predation and another 20 percent deemed them to be excellent or good.”  

Llamas have also been used to deter predators from smaller herd animals.  Llamas can be vicious, kicking, biting and spitting and predators. Both llamas and donkeys naturally dislike canid predators in particular and will often rush to attack them.  <a href="https://www.grit.com/animals/livestock/livestock-guardians-ze0z1603zcbru">Grit</a> says this about using llamas as livestock guardians: 

“Iowa State University polled 145 sheep producers in five western states to determine the effectiveness of llamas for reducing dog and coyote predation. The producers reported losing an average of 21 percent of their ewes and lambs each year prior to adding llama guardians and only 7 percent after guardian llamas joined their flocks. Eighty percent rated their llamas effective or very effective for guarding sheep.”

Of course plant agriculture still has a few beneficial animals I haven’t yet mentioned: insects.  Predatory insects often naturally kill and consume insects consuming plant crops. Lady bugs (family Coccinellidae) are the most well-known of beneficial insects.  Lady bugs are known for eating aphids and other crop pests that can destroy plants. 

There are many other insects (and other arthropods) that are beneficial for farming and gardening as well.  Ground Beetles prey on slugs, caterpillars, and potato beetles. Aphid midges hunt aphids. Spiders will prey on most insects, detrimental or beneficial.  Braconid wasps parasitize caterpillars that may munch on plants. 

Much of the reason the benefit of these insects isn’t realized in agriculture is widespread pesticide usage.  When an ecological balance is reached in a farm or garden, the nuisance insects are controlled to a certain level by their natural predators.  The key to attracting insects such as these (and spiders) is finding the plants they like and planting them alongside crop plants. Diversity helps too, instead of large monoculture farms, those with a multitude of different crops growing together mimic nature better and are more likely to bring in helpful arthropods.  

In his fantastic book The One-Straw Revolution, experimental farmer, Masanobu Fukuok tells of the benefit of spiders to his crops when he didn’t use pesticides:

“I had not used insecticide.  Upon investigating the habitat, the balance between insects and their natural enemies, the rate of spider propagation and so on, the leaf-hoppers were found to be just as scarce in my fields as in the Center’s fields, which are sprayed countless times with a variety of deadly chemicals.”

Beyond protection from predation or herbivory, animals can do a lot.  Butterflies, bees and other insects pollinate crops. Hummingbirds even can be important pollinators.  As <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/bat-friendly-tequila-species-recovery/">we reported</a>, farmers growing agave for tequila production have started to recognize the importance of lesser long-nosed bats for pollinating.  

The importance of other organisms in raising our own food is part of an ancient system.  We are part of an interconnected whole, a global ecosystem. The more natural we can leave our food systems, the less work for us.  The importance for us is for food but also to remind us that we are still but a part of a greater natural order.       

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By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

Across the globe, animals help to protect agriculture

For years now, conservationists in Africa have been promoting the...

An intervention with psychedelic mushrooms may help some people overcome their tobacco addiction, according to a new study. The research was focused on identifying the underlying mechanism that makes it so difficult to quit smoking.

“Cigarette smoking is today a huge public health scourge and there are no effective reliable treatments,” explained study co-author Tehseen Noorani of <a href="https://www.jhsph.edu/">Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health</a>.

“An open-label pilot study had impressive results in the treatment of cigarette smoking addiction with psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy, and we wanted to understand better how it worked - commonly referred to as the ‘mechanisms of change.’ One way to do this is to draw upon participants’ experiences, to identify themes in perceived mechanisms of change.” 

The research was focused on 12 individuals who had previously participated in psilocybin-assisted smoking cessation. The participants had received two or three  treatments of psilocybin, which is the active compound found in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/magic-mushrooms-depression-emotions/">magic mushrooms</a>, and had also engaged in cognitive behavior therapy.

For the current study, the individuals were interviewed approximately 30 months after the psilocybin sessions.

Overall, nine of the study participants had successfully quit smoking in the time since treatment, while two others were not successful in quitting and one person had cut back to only social smoking.

“Participants reported that psilocybin sessions led to psychological insights, experiences of interconnectedness, feelings of awe and curiosity and reduced withdrawal symptoms, all of which helped them successfully quit smoking,” Noorani told <a href="https://www.psypost.org/">PsyPost</a>.

“Smoking was one of the least important consequences of study involvement - participants reported many other sustained improvements in their lives, including enhanced aesthetic appreciation, openness to experience and engagement in the community.”

Noorani explained that, for psychedelics-assisted therapy to be feasible, researchers must gain an understanding of how to streamline a treatment system that it is consistently safe and effective. 

“Personally, I was really excited by the use of psychedelics, which can occasion deeply meaningful experiences, for disrupting something as notoriously stubborn as cigarette addiction,” said Noorani.

“I was also interested in the challenge of parsing out the complexity of the research protocol itself - including substantial levels of care, a deep concern by researchers and the clinical team in the lives of participants, extended follow-on support and the expectations that come from the reputation of Johns Hopkins, which is an elite research institution.”

The study is published in the <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/loi/jop">Journal of Psychopharmacology</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Psychedelic mushrooms may help smokers kick the habit

An intervention with psychedelic mushrooms may help some people overcome...

Could some Asian mushrooms help doctors fight cancer? Four species have shown natural chemical compounds that may have anti-tumor properties, researchers say, and they want to study them further.

"In ancient China, mushrooms were considered as the most effective treatment for the various types of tumors. Contemporary fungotherapy represents a promising field for scientific research,” Dr. Vladimir Katanaev, head of <a href="https://www.dvfu.ru/en/">Far East Federal University</a>’s natural pharmacology program, said in a news release.

An international team from FEFU, the <a href="https://www.unil.ch/central/en/home.html">University of Lausanne</a> and the <a href="http://old.febras.ru/institutes_.html">Russian Academy of Sciences’ Far Eastern Branch</a> analyzed four species of Asian mushroom, listing the potential tumors that could be treated by natural compounds, including sarcoma, stomach and liver cancers, and leukemia. The goal is to guide future research of the mushrooms to determine whether they can be used to treat these cancers.

The four Asian mushrooms they selected have been used in folk medicine for centuries, the researchers said. Because of their long use, their chemical properties have been studied and described in existing research, the scientists said, giving new research a base to work from.

About 90 percent of fungi have never been studied to see if they have anti-tumor or antibacterial properties, co-author Dr. Alexander Kagansky of FEFU said.

“Over the past 60 years, the rate of studies focusing on fungi increased exponentially, but in many areas of research mushrooms as potential source for beneficial products are still ignored,” the team wrote in their study.

Some of the studies that have focused on Asian mushrooms and their anti-cancer properties have ignored the effects chemical compounds might have on healthy cells, they added.

“In general, there has been a strong progress in the field of medicinal mushroom research in terms of anticancer drug development, but this work continues and much more progress still awaits us, especially in the fields of molecular targets of the medicinal mushrooms and the complex synergistic interplay of their different components,” they wrote.

The study has been published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.18632/oncotarget.25660">Oncotarget</a>. 

—

By Kyla Cathey, <a href="http://www.earth.com">Earth.com</a> staff writer

Image credit: Eugenia M. Bulakh

Asian mushrooms may have anti-cancer properties

Could some Asian mushrooms help doctors fight cancer? Four species...

The sparkling white sand of Florida’s southwestern beaches aren’t dotted with sunbathers this week. Instead, they’re strewn with the corpses of dead marine creatures, victims of a red tide.

While the toxic algae blooms known as “red tides” are common off the coasts of the Gulf of Mexico, the <a href="https://floridadep.gov/">Florida Department of Environmental Protection</a> is calling the current event the worst in a decade. The state’s governor has declared a state of emergency.

At least 400 sea turtles have died, Newsweek is reporting. Several news outlets reported that a dead manatee was also recovered off the Florida coast, and at least one biologist found evidence the red tide may have killed a whale shark. Tissue taken from the whale shark’s organs and muscles tested positive for brevetoxin, a neurotoxin created by the algae.

“This whale shark was definitely exposed to the bloom, and we know brevetoxins (are deadly),” spokeswoman Kelly Richmond of the <a href="http://myfwc.com/">Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission</a> told the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/">Washington Post</a>.

While biologists are still working to determine the cause of death, if the algae bloom did play a role, it would be the first known incident in which a whale shark has been killed by a bloom.

About 100 miles of the Florida shore have been affected, and the red tide looks like a persistent one. The algae bloom – which gets its name because the microscopic algae often turn water red – has already lasted since November of last year, and could stretch into 2019, some scientists are saying.

“Many people will tell you that this is the worst they have ever seen,” Jacylin Bevis, a reporter with the NBC affiliate in Fort Myers, Florida, told <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/">NBC News</a>. “It’s our entire south Florida coastline with the red tide and then with the blue-green algae on the rivers and canals."

Most algae blooms are beneficial to the ocean, providing a source of food for marine creatures. Red tides, on the other hand, produce toxins that can harm or kill sea life.

Usually, cold spells break up or kill off some of the algae, but not this time. The red tide is going strong – and has been joined by toxic blue-green algae invading Lake Okeechobee, and several of the state’s rivers and canals, <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/">Newsweek</a> said.

More than a dozen people have gone to the emergency room after exposure to the blue-green algae, also known as cyanobacteria.

—

By Kyla Cathey, <a href="http://www.earth.com">Earth.com</a> staff writer

Red tide kills hundreds of fish, turtles in southwest Florida

The sparkling white sand of Florida’s southwestern beaches aren’t dotted...

Imagine an albino. What do you think of? Most people probably envision a white mouse, with pink eyes. Or perhaps a white rabbit. Because albinism occurs in humans as well, some might conjure up images of fashion models like <a href="https://www.instagram.com/shaundross/?hl=en">Shaun Ross</a>, a black man with albinism who has challenged beauty standards in the modern era. Perhaps more pressingly, other still might think of the <a href="http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20170425-the-silent-killer-of-africas-albinos">albino people in Africa who are harassed and killed</a> because their body parts are believed to have magical significance. 

Here’s the thing though: albinism is not a truly scientific term. It’s a colloquial term for creatures lacking pigment. The word albino is derived from the Portuguese for “little white one.” Albo means “white” and the diminutive suffix -ino means “little.” As such, it applies equally to animals and plants that lack color. 

When animals lack color, it is due to an absence of melanin in their skin and hair. When plants lack color, it is due to the absence of chlorophyll. While the absence of melanin may have impacts on the survival of animals because their white coloration makes them more conspicuous to predators and more susceptible to conditions such as skin cancer, albino animals are capable of surviving and are sporadically observed in the wild. (Many white animals seen in the wild are actually leucistic; they lack pigment in many cell types but are usually discernible by normally colored eyes.) 

Albino plants, lacking the chlorophyll they need to manufacture food, typically die as seedlings after the energy stored in the seed is used up. Plants with variegated green-and-white foliage or with abnormally white flowers are not considered albino; though their coloration may be atypical for a given species, these plants are nonetheless able to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/photosynthesis-plants-started/">photosynthesize</a> normally. 

In rare cases, albino plants are able to survive. In lab settings, they can be grown to relatively large sizes using a growing medium that allows them to absorb the nutrients they would normally produce in their leaves through their roots, which has been <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/2435069?seq=2#page_scan_tab_contents">known since this early 20th century</a>. 

Albinism is relatively common in plants grown through in the lab through <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=9rGM9F2sGdYC&amp;pg=PA55&amp;dq=microspore+embryo+induced+by&amp;hl=en&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=0ahUKEwjigbyV3MjcAhUL5oMKHdy_AbwQ6AEILjAB#v=onepage&amp;q=microspore%20embryo%20induced%20by&amp;f=false">androgenic microspore embryogenesis</a>, a process through which immature male gametes are treated with heat, gamma radiation, colchicine, or ethanol and induced to form embryos without the presence of a matching female gamete. This process is often used in the development of crops and ornamental plants such as daylilies in order to cut down on the time it takes to reproduce desirable traits. No need to mate the plant and wait for it to form seeds, many of which will not exhibit the desired trait, when the trait can be isolated by using the gamete of the plant exhibiting that trait.

It is thought that the cause of the high incidence of albino seedlings grown from such treated gametes is due to interference in plastid development. In healthy plants, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK9905/">protoplastids mature into chloroplasts</a>, which power photosynthesis. Those protoplastids do not properly mature in albinos. The appearance of albinos is usually viewed as a bad thing in this context: albino crops and ornamentals are not viable outside of a lab setting and are thus useless.

Interestingly, in one of the few widespread instances of albinism in plants in the wild, it may actually be an adaptive mechanism. Coast redwoods (Sequoia sempervirens), native to California and Oregon, reproduce by both seeds and suckering, in which shoots are sent out from the base of the tree and grow into trees themselves. Sometimes, these suckers grow into trees partially or totally lacking green pigmentation in the needles. Some 400 of these unusual trees are known; the first was discovered in 1866. Though on the surface they appear to be independent organisms, in fact, they retain connections to the parent plant and can even exchange nutrients. Because of this, suckers that grow into trees with albino needles can actually reach adulthood (albeit in stunted form). Though they are not themselves able to photosynthesize, they are supplied with the necessary sugars by the parent plant. 

While some have theorized that these ghostly redwoods are parasitic anomalies, little more than botanical leeches who fail to launch and spend their lives sponging off their parents, new research has suggested that they in fact assist the parent plant by absorbing heavy metals and other toxins. There is a higher incidence in areas known to have soils contaminated by heavy metals and albino redwoods have been shown to contain much higher rates of such metals as nickel, cadmium, and copper than surrounding, normally pigmented, trees. 

Because redwoods have hexaploid genomes—meaning that they have six copies of their genetic code as opposed to the two in human genomes—they have a much greater chance of exhibiting mutations. Metals can interfere with normal photosynthetic processes and so it has been speculated in a <a href="https://chimeraredwoods.com/images/RedwoodSymposium.jpeg">University of Colorado study</a> that these white trees in fact serve as livers to their healthy brethren, sequestering metals in their tissues, where they cannot harm their photosynthesizing parents. This research is somewhat speculative at this point, but if proven, may have implications for other species of plant as well. Balsam poplar, aspen, birch, and white spruce, as well herbaceous milkweed plants, all occasionally produce white-leaved shoots as well.

The phenomenon also occurs in some species of mycoheterotrophic plants—which augment their photosynthetic habits with nutrients produced through a symbiotic relationship with root fungi. Sometimes, <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/mec.14021">plants will spontaneously convert to albinism</a> and survive solely on the nutrients produced by this relationship.

While you won’t find true albino plants haunting the aisles of your local gardening center, one breeder has developed a <a href="https://chimeraredwoods.com/future-store/item/38-store">mosaic redwood</a>, with some white needles and some green needles, that may soon be available. You could soon be host to a botanical ghost of your own.

[caption id="attachment_1217084" align="aligncenter" width="300"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/13920739537_b82c5f0c66_o.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-1217084" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/13920739537_b82c5f0c66_o-300x250.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="250" /></a> Image Credit: Maja Dumat - Creative Commons Licence[/caption]

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By <a href="mailto:rtpallardy@gmail.com">Richard Pallardy</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

Image Credit: Redwood Coast/<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/redwoodcoaster/1468188823/in/photolist-3ePdBY-3eJRop-3eJQq2-9p1kM1-3ePeMd-6ECQmn-6EGYKq">Albino Redwoods</a>

Botanical albinos: The science behind plants without chlorophyll

Imagine an albino. What do you think of? Most people...

<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.

<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://youtu.be/Fi2OeEwuzRM?si=vTyd2m9FMmtyWkex
</div></figure>







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.

<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://youtu.be/XYgiPzmNBTU?si=eFYY7gPHU1JznLvU
</div></figure>



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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-----

Wildlife tunnels save millions of amphibians

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Is chocolate the next nutritional powerhouse?

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

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="0ynNMYkMKa-2340414-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="3upvlAaHgO-2256633-12187" type="single"]</div>



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="X0f6OHYoI4-2310561-12187" type="single"]</div>



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="JRaP49ISmm-2357509-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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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"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

[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

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Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

[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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