Sargassum seaweed is piling up on Florida’s beaches, and it’s making a dangerous journey for sea turtle hatchlings even riskier.



Every summer, the sand becomes a highway as thousands of tiny turtles burst from their nests and scramble toward the ocean. For most of them, this short sprint is the difference between life and death.



They’ve already beaten the odds just by hatching. Now, they must avoid predators, stay cool under the rising sun, and find the water before their strength runs out.



But this growing <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sargassum-seaweed-a-growing-problem-could-become-a-sustainable-solution/">seaweed problem</a> is more than just beach clutter - it’s a new threat that’s slowing them down at a time when every second counts.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-more-than-just-smelly-beach-junk">More than just smelly beach junk</h2>



Sargassum seaweed often washes up along Florida’s coast. It’s that brown, leafy stuff that starts to smell after a while. Out in the Atlantic, it floats in huge mats that provide habitat for marine life.



But when too much piles up on shore, sargassum seaweed creates a thick, tangled mess that’s hard for anything small to get through - including baby sea turtles.



Over the past few years, sargassum levels have exploded. Summer beachgoers aren’t the only ones frustrated. 



Sea turtle <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/rainfall-impacts-the-size-of-sea-turtle-hatchlings/">hatchlings</a> are now struggling to cross these growing piles to reach the ocean. It’s not just an inconvenience. It’s a survival threat.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-testing-how-turtles-navigate-the-sargassum">Testing how turtles navigate the sargassum</h2>



Until recently, no one had looked closely at how sargassum affects sea turtle hatchlings. Researchers from Florida Atlantic University (<a href="https://www.fau.edu/science/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">FAU</a>) set out to investigate.



The team tested three species common in Florida: <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/leatherback-sea-turtles-where-the-worlds-largest-turtles-go-to-eat/">leatherbacks</a>, loggerheads, and green turtles. These are the same turtles that nest on beaches from Boca Raton to Juno Beach.



The researchers built 50-foot (15 meter) crawlways in the sand and placed mats of loose sargassum up to 7.5 inches (19 centimeters) high - roughly the height of a large shoebox on end - at the finish line.



A dim light at the far end mimicked the natural glow over the ocean that hatchlings instinctively head towards. Then the team observed how the turtles responded.



The team measured how long it took for the turtles to reach the water, tracked whether they got flipped over while crawling through the seaweed, and even checked their blood sugar levels to see how much energy they were burning.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-sargassum-slows-turtles-down">Sargassum slows turtles down </h2>



The results were clear. All three species took much longer to reach the ocean when sargassum was in the way. Leatherbacks were slowed by 54% with lighter sargassum, and 158% with heavier coverage.



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/loggerhead-turtles-migrate-using-a-secret-thermal-corridor/">Loggerheads</a> saw a 91% delay in light coverage and 175% in heavy seaweed. <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/reintroduction-of-green-turtles-has-been-a-success-in-the-cayman-islands/">Green turtles</a> slowed by 75% and 159%, respectively.



Some turtles couldn’t even finish the crawl in time. The biggest delay came when hatchlings had to climb over the thick seaweed, which slowed them down to a crawl - literally.



“The longer a hatchling stays on the beach, the more at risk it becomes - not just from predators like birds and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/why-did-billions-of-crabs-vanish-from-the-bering-sea/">crabs</a>, but also from overheating and dehydration, especially after sunrise,” said Dr. Sarah Milton of the FAU Department of Biological Sciences.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/shorts/7xqe2C6RR6I?feature=share"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/leatherback-hatchling_sargassum-seaweed-obstacles_FAU_1s.webp" alt="A leatherback hatchling navigates over sargassum on Juno Beach in July 2021. Credit: Abbey M. Appelt, Florida Atlantic University" class="wp-image-1986078"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A leatherback hatchling navigates over sargassum on Juno Beach in July 2021. Click image for video. Credit: Abbey M. Appelt, Florida Atlantic University</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-getting-stuck-and-flipped">Getting stuck and flipped</h2>



The sargassum didn’t just slow the turtles down. It threw them off balance. Hatchlings kept flipping over while trying to climb the mats. In some cases, it happened over and over.



One unlucky turtle flipped more than 20 times in a single trial. Every time that happened, it wasted time and energy, and made hatchlings easy targets for predators.



These juveniles only have a small window to make it to the water before heat and dehydration kick in.



“When sargassum piles are higher - some can be over a meter high on South Florida beaches in the summer and extend for hundreds of meters down the beach - we can expect more failed attempts, particularly when hatchlings have to cross multiple bands of <a href="https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/news/sargassum/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">seaweed</a> just to reach the ocean,” said Milton.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-no-sign-of-burnout-yet">No sign of burnout - yet</h2>



Even with all that effort, the turtles didn’t show signs of physical exhaustion - at least not in their blood sugar levels. Glucose remained in normal ranges for all three species, no matter how much seaweed they faced. 



Only leatherbacks in the no-crawl control group had noticeably higher glucose, which researchers say shows that crawling itself is demanding - but the sargassum didn’t drain them any faster, at least in the short term.



Still, that doesn’t mean it’s harmless.



“For sea turtle hatchlings, reaching the ocean is already a race against time – and survival. Now, increasingly large mats of sargassum are adding new challenges to this critical journey,” said Milton.



“As these <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/robot-discovers-surprising-food-source-sargassum-for-deep-ocean-creatures/">seaweed accumulations</a> grow taller and more widespread, they risk blocking hatchlings entirely, draining their limited energy or leaving them stranded. Beyond impeding movement, sargassum may also reduce nesting space and alter incubation conditions.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-sargassum-management-and-turtles">Sargassum management and turtles</h2>



Sargassum isn’t going away anytime soon. <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ocean-warming-broke-records-for-450-straight-days/">Warmer oceans</a> and nutrient runoff are fueling massive blooms across the Atlantic, and more of it is expected to hit Florida’s shores every year.



This growing issue isn’t just about beach aesthetics. It's quietly making a tough journey even tougher for baby turtles trying to survive their first few minutes of life.



Without changes in how beaches are maintained, these seaweed mats could keep getting in the way - and turtle populations may suffer down the line.



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.2112/JCOASTRES-D-24-00092.1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Journal of Coastal Research</a>.



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Sargassum seaweed is a deadly obstacle course for baby sea turtles

Sargassum seaweed is piling up on Florida’s beaches, and it’s making a dangerous journey for sea turtle hatchlings even riskier. Every summer, the sand becomes a highway as thousands of tiny turtles burst from their nests and scramble toward the ocean. For most of them, this short sprint is the difference between life and death. They’ve already beaten the odds just by hatching. Now, they must avoid predators, stay cool under the rising sun, and find the water before their strength runs out. But this growing seaweed...

Researchers at the <a href="https://www.bnl.gov/">U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory</a> have uncovered new details about the oil production process in plant cells. The discovery could ultimately lead to new methods of modifying plants to produce massive of amounts of oil that could be used as <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/europe-biofuel-deforestation-warming/">biofuels</a>.

A previous study led by Brookhaven Lab biochemist John Shanklin demonstrated a clear association between a sugar-signaling molecule called KIN10 and another protein that initiates oil production known as WRINKLED1. 

The researchers expanded upon this finding and discovered that by increasing sugar accumulation in plant leaves they could also boost oil production. The current study provides a better understanding of the link between sugar signaling and oil production by identifying the exact molecules underlying this connection. 

“If you were a cell, you'd want to know if you should be making new compounds or breaking existing ones down,” said Shanklin. “Making oil is demanding; you want to make it when you have lots of energy - which in cells is measured by the amount of sugar available. By understanding how the availability of sugar drives oil production, we hope to find ways to get plants to boost the priority of making oil.”

In the follow-up investigation, study first authors Zhiyang Zhai and Jantana Keereetaweep set out to determine how different molecular components interact to drive up oil production when sugar is abundant. The team used a new technique called microscale thermophoresis, which measure the strength of molecular interactions with great precision using fluorescent dyes and heat.

“You label the molecules with a fluorescent dye and measure how they move away from a heat source,” said Shanklin. “Then, if you add another molecule that binds to the labeled molecule, it changes the rate at which the labeled molecule moves away from the heat.”

Shanklin said the application of this emerging technique was the key to solving this particular research problem.

The levels of a molecule known as trehalose 6-phosphate (T6P) rise and fall with those of sugar. The study revealed that T6P interacts directly with the KIN10, and this binding interferes with KIN10's ability to shut off oil biosynthesis.

“By measuring the interactions among many different molecules, we determined that the sugar-signaling molecule, T6P, binds with KIN10 and interferes with its interaction with a previously unidentified intermediate in this process, known as GRIK1, which is needed for KIN10 to tag WRINKLED1 for destruction. This explains how the signal affects the chain of events and leads to increased oil production,” said Shanklin. “It's not just sugar but the signaling molecule that rises and falls with sugar that inhibits the oil shut-off mechanism.”

In order to apply this knowledge for increasing oil production, further research is required to get a closer look at the interaction of T6P with its target protein, KIN10. With the help of Brookhaven's National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II), the team will use extremely bright x-rays to reveal exactly how the interacting molecules fit together.

The study is published in the journal <a href="http://www.plantcell.org/">The Plant Cell</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Boosting oil production in plants can help produce biofuels

Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory...

A new study has identified peak morning gene activity that is critical to the timing of a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/plants-know-start-flowering/">plant’s flowering process</a>.

Previously, this peak activity has only been observed at night in the flowering plant Arabidopsis thaliana, which is a widely studied plant used for understanding how flowers transition from their vegetative growth stages to flowering. 

Understanding this process could help better shape our knowledge of how plants allocate resources and expend energy to produce the fruits, leaves, tubers, grains, and nuts that make up so much of our human diet. 

Researchers led by the <a href="https://www.washington.edu/">University of Washington</a> conducted a study to examine the growth of Arabidopsis thaliana in its natural outdoor environment compared to plants grown in an artificial indoor lab to see if there were unaccounted factors in plant growth. 

The results, published in the journal Nature Plants, showed that the gene FT which helps drive plant transition is active both in the morning and evening.  

“Previous research on FT activity in Arabidopsis showed that there is a peak of activity in the evening, not the morning,” said Takato Imaizumi, the leader of the research. “We show definitively that there is a peak of morning activity -- and we think we know why this morning peak was not seen previously in the research laboratory.”

The researchers grew Arabidopsis in outdoor conditions similar to commonly used indoor lab environments, but instead of artificial light, the researchers were able to see how natural sunlight affected the plants. 

Arabidopsis plants were grown outdoors for five summers in a row and the researchers compared the outdoor plant growth rates to plants that were grown indoors. 

The researchers discovered that the FT gene is also active during the morning for outdoor plants meaning that there is something about the indoor plant environment that stifles this natural activity.

It was concluded that the fluorescent bulbs used in Arabidopsis research don’t emit the same wavelengths that sunlight does. 

The researchers added a far-red LED lamp to the indoor growth chambers to help create a more natural environment and the plants then produced peak FT gene activity in the morning.

The results show that artificial indoor environments need to better reflect natural outdoor sunlight and temperatures as this could provide more insight into the flowering process. 

“We show that just a few simple modifications are needed to the artificial growing conditions, which researchers are using worldwide, so that lab research on Arabidopsis more and other plants accurately mimics outdoor growing conditions,” said Imaizumi. “This ensures that the discoveries made in the lab will be more comparable to what the biological processes are -- at the cellular and molecular level -- in other plants of interest in nature.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: Akane Kubota

Key morning gene activity tells plants that it’s time to flower

A new study has identified peak morning gene activity that...

Kids with moms who use marijuana may try it at a younger age. A new study from the <a href="http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/">Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health</a> has found that children will start using marijuana an average of two years earlier when they have mothers who use marijuana.

Natasha Sokol led the study as a doctoral student at Harvard Chan School, and is now a postdoctoral research fellow at the Brown University School of Public Health's Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies.

“Beginning marijuana use at a young age has been linked with negative cognitive and behavioral consequences,” said Sokol. “In a shifting regulatory environment in the U.S. in which the visibility and acceptability of adult marijuana use is expected to increase, it's important to better understand how these changes may impact children's early marijuana use so that we can better identify at-risk youth and implement effective prevention strategies.”

According to the study authors, prohibiting <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/medical-marijuana-chronic-nerve-pain/">marijuana</a> may be inconsistent with public health goals. For example, over half of all arrests in the United States are marijuana-related and these arrests are a major contributor to racial imbalances among those arrested and incarcerated. Furthermore, marijuana has recognized therapeutic benefits for a number of conditions, and could serve as a much safer alternative to opioids.Kids with moms who use marijuana may try it at a younger age 

On the other hand, research has identified many potential negative consequences for children who begin using marijuana at a young age. Impaired decision-making, increased impulsivity, and reductions in IQ have all been linked to marijuana use among young people. The younger the individual is, the more severe the effects, which means delaying the use of marijuana is important. 

The researchers used data from a national survey to assess the timing and extent of marijuana use and initiation among 4,440 children and 2,586 mothers.

The study revealed that 67.2 percent of the children and 35.3 percent of the mothers self-identified as marijuana users. Children with mothers that used marijuana had an increased risk for starting marijuana use prior to age 17, and began using pot at an average age of 16. The average age for initiation among young people whose mothers did not use marijuana was 18.

“Although more research is needed, physicians who prescribe marijuana might consider educating parents who use the drug about the potential dangers of early marijuana use among their children, and provide information and preventive strategies to delay such use,” said study co-author Vaughan Rees.

The study is published in the <a href="https://www.ajpmonline.org/">American Journal of Preventive Medicine</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Kids with moms who use marijuana may try it at a younger age

Kids with moms who use marijuana may try it at...

Orchids are one of the most diverse – and beautiful – groups of flowering plants in the world, with more than 20,000 species classified. But with this beauty comes trouble, as their popularity has led to overharvesting of orchids. Combined with loss of habitat due to human expansion, over 70 percent of Japan’s native orchid species are currently classified as endangered by the Ministry of the Environment.

Now, a group of Japanese researchers has revealed an additional threat to orchid populations. There is a species of seed-eating fly that is causing critical damage to the seed production of numerous orchid species. The researchers report that if the damage caused by this fly is occurring across <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/new-plant-species-extinct/">Japan</a> – and keeps going at a fast rate – these already-endangered orchid species may be unable to reproduce.

The research team, led by Professor Kenji Suetsugu from <a href="http://www.kobe-u.ac.jp/en/index.html">Kobe University</a> Graduate School of Science, conducted a survey to identify pollinators of orchid species. During this survey, they found that in pollinated fruit which should be viable to produce seeds, a seed-feeding fly (Japanagromyza tokunagai) was eating the seeds. 

This fly lays its eggs in the young fruit of blooming orchids, so that when the insects begin to grow, they eat the seeds of the fruit. When the pupae eventually hatch into their winged forms, they make a hole in the fruit in order to escape. However, because the fruit that is parasitized by these flies eventually grows to be the same size as normal fruit, it appears to be healthy from the outside. This leads the researchers to believe that we have likely underestimated the damage caused by these flies. Furthermore, many of the fruits parasitized by the flies will produce no seeds at all. 

For their study, the researchers artificially pollinated five species of orchids in Japan’s Kanto region, covering some specimens with bags to prevent any flies from entering. They then compared the quality and amount of seeds produced by each plant. Their results showed that in every single orchid species tested, damage caused by J. tokunagai reduced seed production by more than 95 percent. 

Scientists believe that it is also possible the damage caused by these flies may be increasing in recent years. This could be because the flies are a non-native species that lives in areas with few natural enemies, as well as the fact that orchid populations have become fragmented. 

 “Going forward, we want to shed more light on the damage caused by J. tokunagai,” says Suetsugu. “We plan to do this by quantifying the damage in other areas of Japan, and by testing the theory that J. tokunagai is a non-native species through genetic analysis.”

--

By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Takuto Shitara

This endangered orchid species is being eaten alive

Orchids are one of the most diverse – and beautiful...

Students of natural selection will know that animals, plants, and other living things affect each other’s evolutionary trajectories. Prey species evolve cryptic coloration and cautious habits to avoid predators. Predators evolve exquisitely tuned senses that allow them to sense their hidden prey. Parasites diverge and end up specializing in one species or another. 

Sometimes, these relationships develop in tandem such that certain species are said to co-evolve. That is, their habits and interactions, over time, affect each other in perceptible, tangible ways. Species may in fact become dependent on one another for survival.

Some <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28698111">scientists have argued</a> that this is is the case with the bizarre Osage orange (Maclura pomifera), a species of North American tree that bears grapefruit-sized, knobbly green fruits named for the Osage tribe of Native Americans. Also known as the horse apple and bois d’arc (for its use in bow-making), the species is most closely related to figs, jackfruits, and mulberries in the family Moraceae. These enormous fruits appear to have no current dispersal agents, or animals that spread their seeds. Anyone who has a mulberry tree in (or anywhere near) their yard will be intimately acquainted with the dispersal phenomenon. Mulberry seeds excreted by the birds that feed on the fruits pop up as seedlings in even the most assiduously tended garden beds. 

While relatively widespread, the current distribution of the Osage orange is almost exclusively attributed to human intervention. At the time of European settlement of the Americas, they were restricted to the Red River Valley in Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas, and maybe Kansas, Louisiana, and Missouri. Prior to the last ice age, however, these plants and their relatives were widespread throughout North America; there were some 7 species of Maclura.

Their current distribution is purely a function of their use as hedges by European settlers. Why might this once ubiquitous species have contracted to such a small fraction of its former range? Many scientists believe that the tree was once spread almost exclusively by herbivorous megafauna, likely wiped out by humans at the end of the last ice age some 11,700 years ago. 

Everything about the Osage orange, and similarly large-fruited North American trees such as the Kentucky coffee tree (Gymnocladus dioicus), honey locust (Gleditsia triacanthos), paw paw (Asimina triloba), and persimmon (Diospyros virginiana), suggests that it coevolved with massive herbivores. Its fruits are enormous in comparison to most species and it drops them when they are unripe or just ripe, indicating that their intended consumers were likely to pick them up from the ground rather than pluck them from its branches. 

Plants do not expend the enormous amount of energy that it takes to produce such large fruits without the promise of a payoff; attracting large herbivores who would be likely to spread its seeds might have constituted such a bargain for the Osage orange. Its fruits contain high levels of toxins that deter most smaller frugivores or compel them to eat only small portions. Those that do, such as squirrels and deer, either only feed on the fruit itself in situ or destroy the seeds, making them unlikely candidates for dispersal. 

And it sports an intimidating armature of spines that seem likely to deter large browsers and serve no apparent function in the current ecosystem. In contemporary ecosystems that feature large herbivores such as elephants, similarly sized fruits are often spread by them, notably wild gourds in the family Cucurbitaceae, which are relatives of the well-known squashes, cucumbers, and pumpkins in cultivation. 

All of this evidence combines to suggest that Osage orange fruits were likely ingested and then later excreted by large <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/plants-evolve-defenses-herbivores/">herbivores</a> such as the American mastodon (Mammut americanum) and giant ground sloths (order Xenarthra), thus spreading their seeds. In the absence of such herbivores, their seeds were unlikely to spread by any other means than by water, explaining their persistence in river valleys. The extinction of these large mammals is tightly correlated to the arrival of humans in North America, who, according to a prevailing theory, hunted them out of existence using recently developed stone-tipped spears originating with the Clovis people. (Some studies have suggested that <a href="https://www.nature.com/news/2011/111020/full/news.2011.606.html">even earlier cultures</a> contributed to this decline or that <a href="http://www.washington.edu/news/2001/10/24/blame-north-america-megafauna-extinction-on-climate-change-not-human-ancestors/">climate change was to blame</a> for their extinction.)

Studies and anecdotal evidence regarding large modern herbivores such as cows and horses that eat large fruits such as the Osage orange have corroborated the dispersal theory. Farmers note that horses are typically quite fond of the mysterious green globes and report that they often find new Osage orange seedlings far from the parent trees, but within their horses’ enclosures, suggesting that these modern equids are indeed dispersing the seeds just as their more massive predecessors did. 

A <a href="https://apps.sas.upenn.edu/caterpillar/index.php?action=retrieve&amp;article=Janzen%252C1982anachronisms.pdf">1982 study</a> in Costa Rica found similar effects from cows and horses on large fruited trees with no contemporary dispersal agents. Conversely, <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Matthew_Moran2/publication/273910597_A_Test_of_Potential_Pleistocene_Mammal_Seed_Dispersal_in_Anachronistic_Fruits_using_Extant_Ecological_and_Physiological_Analogs/links/57f7a7bd08ae91deaa6061c4/A-Test-of-Potential-Pleistocene-Mammal-Seed-Dispersal-in-Anachronistic-Fruits-using-Extant-Ecological-and-Physiological-Analogs.pdf">other studies</a> have shown that modern elephants, while willing to eat some Osage oranges, did not significantly affect the germination of the seeds passed through their digestive systems.

Though they likely wiped out the Osage orange’s primary disperal agents, Native Americans may have actually been responsible for its persistence. According to one theory, the highly successful Spiroan culture had a monopoly on the production of bows from Osage orange wood, though to be the best material for these essential hunting tools. Osage orange wood is wonderfully flexible and is thought to be the most rot-resistant wood in North America. 

Bows made of Osage orange wood were discovered thousands of miles away from the source, suggesting active trading between Native American cultures. European settlers prized the tree for its dense and impenetrable branches, which could be shaped by pruning into a hedge “horse high, hog tight, and bull strong.” The tree’s current range is a function of its use in a government program intended to mitigate the effects of the Dust Bowl; a 100-mile-wide stretch of land bisecting the United States was planted with Osage orange hedges in a plan called the Great Plains Shelterbelt. Such hedges were also often used to contain livestock prior to the invention of barbed wire in the mid-1800s. Many persist in fragments to this day.

All of this, of course, is rather speculative. The animals that might prove this theory are long-extinct and cloning projects, while intriguing, are a ways off. Nonetheless, it is worth contemplating: are these plants in effect, as one writer put it, “<a href="http://arnoldia.arboretum.harvard.edu/pdf/articles/2001-61-2-anachronistic-fruits-and-the-ghosts-who-haunt-them.pdf">evolutionary ghosts</a>”?

--

By <a href="mailto:rtpallardy@gmail.com">Richard Pallardy</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

The curious case of the Osage orange and the megafauna extinction

Students of natural selection will know that animals, plants, and...

The Great Plains of North America take up approximately 501,900 square miles of land.  The Serengeti of Africa is only about 12,000 square miles in size. As odd as it sounds, once, before Europeans and even the people who became Native Americans arrived, the Great Plains of North America had a lot in common with Africa’s Serengeti.  

In fact, it might be the case that Africa’s megafauna survive while similar species have died off in much of the rest of the world because humans first evolved in Africa.  African wildlife may have been given a longer period of time to evolve to the presence of humans, in fact both co-evolved together. 

According to <a href="https://defenders.org/bison/basic-facts">defenders.org</a>, there were once around 20 to 30 million bison roaming across broad expanses of North America.  Today the number of bison is down to an estimated half a million, many of which are hybrids of domestic cattle and bison.

Similar to the more famous decline of the American Bison, elk populations are not what they once were.  <a href="https://www.grit.com/animals/wildlife/north-american-elk-zm0z14jfzsmi">Grit Magazine</a> reports that an estimated historic population of 10 million elk across North America has dropped to about 1 million elk.  Today elk is thought of as an animal of the Rocky Mountains but before European disturbance, the large ungulate had a much broader distribution.  Elk once grazed across prairies and were distributed much further east as well. With pressure from increased human hunting, elk have taken refuge in the more remote, inhospitable and hard to access parts of America, the higher mountains of the west.  

Pronghorns, which are also known incorrectly as ‘antelope’ live in much of the prairie and are probably the most visible of the plains megafauna.  If you drive across lonely expanses of eastern Wyoming or parts of Utah, you’re certain to see the quick running pronghorn. It’s harder to find solid estimates for historic populations of Pronghorn, perhaps partially due to their modern abundance in certain areas.  However the <a href="http://www.iws.org/species_pronghorn.html">Institute for Wildlife Studies</a> estimates that there were once as many as 500,000 pronghorns in California alone.  The population of Pronghorns in California as of 2013 was close to 3,000. 

Brown bears, wolves, mountain lions and other large predators once lived on the Great Plains of North America in numbers.  Now largely ignored or relegated to scattered montane habitats, it’s easy to forget that these animals were once prairie animals as well.  

The decline of bison due to commercial hunting and an official government program of eradication to bring plains Indians to their knees hurt many other species.  It’s thought that bison which accidentally died from cold, disease, or accidents like drowning in river crossing once fed bears across the plains. Not only bears would benefit either but also wolves, coyotes, foxes, and even grasses would benefit from the bodies of bison. 

Bison and other herbivores were not only instrumental to the integrity of the Great Plains ecosystem as sources of food for predators.  Dung also was important as a food source for beetles and other insects. According to the <a href="https://www.nps.gov/articles/bison-bellows-10-6-16.htm">National Park Service</a>, an average Bison produces about 10 to 12 quarts of dung.  Each individual Bison patty is said to support as many as 300 species of insect.  Insects in turn support bats, turtles, lizards and other small mammals and herps that prey on them.  Of course insects and small animals are important for pollination, spread of plant seeds, herbivory and in general affect the ecology of plants.                

Invasive grasses, tamarisk and other plants have forever altered the landscape of North America in ways it’s hard to completely fathom.  New plants and a radical change in herbivory associated with the decline in native megafauna has made the grasslands into something completely different.  Bison and native plants had a long history of co-evolution that is simply not there with domestic cattle which were imported relatively recently from North America.  

Plants that have been introduced to the Great Plains vary from well-known plants like Siberian Elm (Ulmus pumila) and Russian Olive (Elaeagnus angustifolia) that are planted in cities to grasses most people never think of being planted.  The situation is complicated by the dynamics between different non-native and native plants.  According to a <a href="https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/70037466">USGS</a> study, the decline of a high profile invasive plant, Leafy Spurge (Euphorbia esula) is related to the proliferation of exotic grass species.  In turn non-native grasses have hurt native grasses.    

Even before Europeans arrived to the scene, North America’s wild prairie ecosystem had begun a radical change.  Once the home to mammoths, mastodons, giant sloths, cave bears, dire wolves and sabre toothed cats, all were extinct before Columbus set sail or the Norse reached North America.

There were once four species of giant ground sloths in North America, all of which went extinct around 10,000 years ago.  I’ve spent time with fossil bone casts of some of these ground sloths, helped putting them together again and they’re truly impressive.  Some of the claws are longer than my whole hand. Megalonyx one genus of giant sloth that lived from about 10.3 million years ago until about 11,000 years ago stood taller than an adult human and weighed around 2,200 lbs when alive.  When you think of sloths, it’s hard to imagine these giant terrestrial animals. It’s easier to imagine giant ground sloths when you know they’re distant relatives of giant anteaters, animals known to eviscerate predators with the enormous claws of their fore paws.  

Mammoths and mastodons complete the comparison of the Great Plains with a lost Serengeti.  Like Africa, North America once had elephants of a sort. Mammoths in North America died off later than the ground sloths, living until about 4,500 years ago but were still most certainly extinct by the time Europeans arrived on the scene.  <a href="http://www.nathpo.org/Many_Nations/mn_news17.html">Nathpo.org</a> tells how Thomas Jefferson asked Lewis and Clark to investigate mammoths specifically during their corps of discovery.  It was unknown when they set out whether the mammals were extinct or living in some hidden part of North America. 

Some of the megafauna left the Great Plains much later than others.  Unlike cave bears, mastodon, sabre toothed cats or giant sloths, wolves were doing well when Europeans moved west from the first colonies.  Wolves were eradicated throughout the west with a fury it’s hard to understand. The killing and suffering inflicted upon wolves seems to show a sort of madness made Federal law.  People not only killed wolves to collect a bounty, they sometimes tortured them, or poisoned carcasses, killing everything that ate indiscriminately. The shadow of the murder of wolves still lies over the west.  Small amounts of wolves have been reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park and other parts of the west even though a lot of hatred for the canid still remains. Wolves larger relative, the Dire Wolf have long been extinct.  

There are still fragments where you can see wide expanses of grassland and even small, heavily managed populations of bison that once roamed wild.  Pronghorn, elk, even a few wolves are out there. Brown bears have taken huge hits and no longer live in most of the west, being extirpated even from the high mountains of Colorado.  

One lesson we can learn from the extinction of animals like giant sloths and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/cloning-reverse-extinction/">mammoths</a> is that the world is always changing.  We should cherish the animals we have left, the plants that still remain.  The biggest threat now to the Great Plains is development and encroachment on habitat.  <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/prairie-dogs-true-underdog/">Prairie Dogs</a> are regularly killed by ranchers and others, which in turn hurts Burrowing Owls, Black-footed Ferrets and others.  We should cherish what we have left and allow it to grow. If we can do that, we could once again live on a continent with a habitat that rivals the great plains of Africa.      

--

By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

The lost world of the American Serengeti

The Great Plains of North America take up approximately 501,900...

Angiosperms make up the largest and most diverse groups of plants on Earth and their evolution was largely driven by pollinating insects. 

Despite the crucial role of insects in the formation of early angiosperms, there exists little information about <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/first-insect-pollinated-plant/">ancient pollinators</a> during the pre-angiosperm period because insect fossils from this time are so rare. 

But now, researchers from the <a href="http://english.nigpas.cas.cn/">Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (NIGPAS)</a> have examined pollinating insect fossils from the Mesozoic era in a new study published in the journal Nature Communications. 

The results shed light on the diversity among Mesozoic pollinators including differences in proboscis length and defense mechanisms. 

The proboscis of an insect is the flexible, tube-like mouth part that allows the insect to feed on plant nectar. 

Research on early pollinator and angiosperm diversity often focuses on the match between proboscis length and tube length in flowers.

[caption id="attachment_1647551" align="aligncenter" width="700"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/insects.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1647551" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/insects-1007x1024.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="712" /></a> Image Credit: NIGPAS[/caption]

This most recent study was no exception and researchers examined 27 kalligrammatid lacewings that had been preserved in late Cretaceous Burmese amber, and Chinese Early Cretaceous and Middle Jurassic compression rocks.

Among the 27 specimens, proboscis length varied from .6 to 18 millimeters, which showcases a highly diverse group of pollinators, each particularly suited to a plant that had a complimentary tube length. 

The researchers theorize that pollination niches were partitioned like they are in today’s different ecosystems, and this would have helped contribute to a diverse group of pollinators insects and the success and evolution of pollinator-dependent plants during the Cretaceous period. 

The results also indicate that the specificity between certain Kalligrammatid lacewings and their host plants may have also helped bring about the extinction of the insects during the late Cretaceous period as gymnosperms became more diverse. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: YANG Dinghua

Pollination insects played a crucial role in plant evolution

Angiosperms make up the largest and most diverse groups of...

Scientists at <a href="http://www.kobe-u.ac.jp/en/index.html">Kobe University</a> have found a new species of plant that has most likely already gone extinct. The single non-photosynthetic plant specimen was discovered in 1992 and preserved in a Japanese natural history museum with no known identity.

When they made the discovery, the researchers were carrying out surveys to classify the taxonomy and ecology of non-photosynthetic plants called mycoheterotrophs. 

Instead of photosynthesizing, mycoheterotrophic plants are parasitic and draw nutrients from <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/bacteria-fungi-fragrant-language/">fungi</a> and tree roots. Many of these species make only a brief appearance above ground during fruiting and flowering periods, which makes them very hard to locate and identify.

As part of the study, lead author Professor Kenji Suetsugu and his team re-examined a plant preserved in the Museum of Nature and Human Activities. The specimen was originally found in 1992 in the Nishi district of Kobe by independent botanists Mr. Osamu Nakanishi and Mr. Tomiki Kobayashi.

When it was first discovered, the plant was identified as belonging to the family Burmanniaceae due to its non-photosynthesizing properties and the unusual shape of its flowers. The specimen was thought to be closely related to the Oxygyne hyodoi species. 

In the current study, however, a more detailed analysis of the plant's characteristics showed that it was not a member of Oxygene but Thismia, mostly because of the position and shape of the anthers. 

The team dissected the flower and closely examined the shape of the petals and stamen, and determined that the specimen had features not found in any other species of Thismia. The experts named it Thismia kobensis after its place of discovery, and described it as a new species.

Thismia kobensis was discovered in 1992 as a single specimen, with no further samples of the same species found by the time its known habitat was destroyed in 1999. It was reported as extinct by Hyogo prefecture in 2010, but this is yet to be determined. 

“Because it has now been recognized as a new species, we are hopeful that living specimens of T. kobensis can be discovered in other places,” said Professor Suetsugu.

The study is published in the journal <a href="http://www.mapress.com/phytotaxa/">Phytotaxa</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: Kobe University

New plant species discovered in Japan may already be extinct

Scientists at Kobe University have found a new species of...

A new study on how climate change impacts vegetation may soon pave the way for using gene editing technology to modify plants to be more resilient in warmer, drier, environments.

Plants depend on carbon dioxide and water to thrive but the tiny holes in their leaves, called stomata, that open to draw in carbon dioxide and expel oxygen also let out water. It’s essentially the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/measure-global-plant-water-use/">ventilation system of the plant. 
</a>

As <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-droughts-hotter/">climate change</a> is increasing drought and making environments around the world drier, this loss of water is critical.

Plants can choose to keep their stomata closed, but then they can’t take in carbon dioxide. It’s a lose-lose situation for plants, which is why researchers from the <a href="http://web.stanford.edu/group/bergmann/cgi-bin/bergmannlab/">Bergmann Lab at Stanford University</a> wanted to figure out what underlying factors drive the development of stomata. 

The results of the study, published in the journal Developmental Cell, could help create new methods for using gene editing to make plants more durable in the coming years and resist the impacts of climate change.

“It would be really nice to be able to better predict how vegetation, such as boreal forests, will react to global changes in climate,” said Anne Vatén, the lead author of the study. “Changes in stomatal development are a type of mechanism plants probably use to adapt when the environment changes, but we have a lot more to learn about it.”

The researchers grew hundreds of Arabidopsis thaliana plants in a lab setting and analyzed the plants during stomata development. Vatén also examined the entire genome of the of the plant.

By looking at the plant’s genome Vatén was able to confirm that the genes associated with a  plant hormone called cytokinin were important to stomata development.

Next, the researchers used CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing technology and changed the levels of cytokinin in the lab plants to see how it influenced stomata numbers.

The team found that cytokinin activates a particular gene called SPEECHLESS that lays the groundwork for some cells to become stomata.

When the researchers changed the hormone levels in the plants, it only had a subtle impact on how much stomata were created.

In some cases, stomata development changed by only ten percent, but the researchers found that this was consistent with changes that a plant naturally makes to its stomata development when there is a change to their environment.

“That was a really satisfying discovery,” said Dominique Bergmann, the senior author of the study. “It was great to be able to say that the changes we see in stomatal numbers when plants lose the ability to use the cytokinin-SPEECHLESS system is in the realm of how much plants normally change to cope with an environmental change.”

The researchers propose that CRISPR technology could be key for helping plants withstand climate change, and now thanks to this study, science has gained a better understanding of stomata development in plants.

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com </a>Staff Writer

Hormone could help create climate change-resistant plants

A new study on how climate change impacts vegetation may...

A new study found that tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/cannabis-treats-migraines-better/">cannabinoid in marijuana</a> that is known for producing a high, may help alleviate chronic nerve pain. 

Researchers from the <a href="https://www.tasmc.org.il/sites/en/Imaging/Pages/FMRI.aspx">Sagol Brain Institute at the Tel Aviv Medical Center</a> in Israel discovered that THC reduces brain activity between the areas of the brain that process emotions and sensory signals, which in turn could help provide pain relief. 

The results of the study were published online in the journal Neurology. 

“Pain is a complex experience that involves both the senses and emotions,” said Haggai Sharon, an author of the study. “Our study results link pain relief from THC with a reduction in the connections between areas of the brain otherwise heavily connected, suggesting that THC may alleviate pain by disrupting signals between these pain processing pathways.”

The researchers focused on radicular pain, which radiates from the spine down through the legs. Sciatica, for example, is an extremely common form of radicular pain. 

According to the <a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/sciatica/symptoms-causes/syc-20377435">Mayo Clinic</a>, more than 3 million cases of sciatica are diagnosed each year and it can cause severe pain, numbness, and tingling. 

15 men with chronic radicular nerve pain with an average age of 33 participated in the study and all the men reported having pain for more than six months. 

The researchers asked the participants to rate their pain levels and conducted MRI brain scans of the participants to understand the different pathways and connections in the brain associated with pain processing. 

Next, the researchers split the participants into two groups, nine of which received 15 milligrams of THC oil and six were given a placebo. 

An hour after consuming the THC oil, the participants were asked again about their pain levels and then underwent another brain scan. 

A week later, the participants were given the THC oil again, but this time the participants that been given the THC were given the placebo and those who had received the placebo were given the THC. 

Those who had the THC treatment reported that their pain had decreased.

From zero to 100, the participants reported an average pain level of 53 before taking the THC and 35 after the treatment. 

Pain relief was influenced by the connections between the regions of the brain responsible for processing pain. 

“Interestingly, our results also show that the more connected the areas of the brain that process emotion and sensory prior to treatment, the greater the pain relief experienced when taking THC,” said Sharon. “Larger studies are needed to confirm our findings.”

The small sample size of the study and the fact that women did not participate are limiting factors, and the researchers say that further studies are needed to better understand how other cannabinoids impact nerve pain. 

--

By<a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com"> Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a>, Staff Writer

Medical marijuana can help alleviate chronic nerve pain

A new study found that tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the cannabinoid in...

The signs of autumn are already here: pumpkin spice lattes are available at coffee shops around the U.S., and drugstores have their Halloween candy and fall displays out. Soon, they’ll be joined by cooler weather and bright fall foliage.

If you’re done with summer, the interactive 2018 Fall Foliage Prediction Map seeks to clue you in to when autumn will arrive.

But despite the flavored coffees coming out, it may take a while before most places see true fall. Forecasters are expecting warm weather for a bit longer through most of the country.

The map is the creation of the <a href="https://smokymountains.com/">Smoky Mountains</a> website, which aims to help travelers time their trips to see the most colorful fall foliage.

"Each year, we use a proprietary algorithm to process millions of data pieces and output accurate predictions for the entire country,” map creator Wes Melton told the <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/">Daily Mail</a>. 

Using data from the <a href="http://www.noaa.gov/">National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration</a>, weather forecasts and historical leaf trends, the site provides a county-by-county forecast of when the fall foliage is likely to be at its most striking.

It could be a long wait for some.

<a href="https://www.accuweather.com/">AccuWeather</a>, a private forecasting service, is predicting a gradual transition to autumn in the northeastern United States and the mid-Atlantic region, with lingering warm weather. The Southeast could see tropics-like weather with plenty of chances for rain, while the Southwest will likely stay scorching.

“Meanwhile, the central and northern Plains will get a little bit of everything, including the threat for some early-season snow,” the weather site reported.

Throughout most of the growing season, leaves are full of chlorophyll that makes them appear verdant and vivid. But as the days get shorter and less light is available, chlorophyll production slows down and leaves turn color before they eventually brown and wither. <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fall-leaf-colors/">Temperature also affects fall leaf colors</a>, as well as how long they last.

To view the map, visit the <a href="https://smokymountains.com/fall-foliage-map/">2018 Fall Foliage Map</a> on the Smoky Mountain site.

Autumn is coming: find out when fall foliage will appear

The signs of autumn are already here: pumpkin spice lattes...

One of the biggest concerns that scientists have about the impacts of climate change is that carbon emissions are increasing temperatures at too fast a rate for <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-moving-fast/">plants and animals to adapt</a>.

This means that in the coming decades, biodiversity could drastically decrease and our Earth will look very different from how it does today.

Researchers from the <a href="https://www.arizona.edu/">University of Arizona (UA)</a> led a study published in the journal Science that projected the future of vegetation on Earth based on how plant life changed at the end of the last ice age.

When the planet warmed at the end of the last ice age, it drove major changes in the global landscape, which could happen over a rapidly increased rate in the next 100 years unless greenhouse gas emissions are reduced.

“We found that ecosystems all over the globe experienced big changes,” said Connor Nolan, a doctoral candidate in the UA Department of Geosciences and the lead author of the study. “About 70 percent of those sites experienced large changes in the species that were there and what the vegetation looked like.”

First, the researchers compiled data from published reports on how vegetation changed after the last age for 594 sites around the world.

The vegetation, climate, and ecological data included information on every continent except Antarctica and covered a period from 21,000 years ago (the height of the last ice age) to the pre-industrial era.

For each site, Nolan had experts weigh in to determine if the vegetation change in a particular area was low, moderate, or large. Using these quantifiers, the researchers were able to better compare the sites and changes through the years.

The areas that had largest increases in temperature since the ice age also had the biggest documented changes in vegetation.

More than 67 percent of the 594 sites had high or large changes in vegetation and 26 percent experienced moderate changes according to the experts who were part of the study.

Once the researchers knew how temperature changes had impacted vegetation around the world, that data was used to project future vegetation changes based on various greenhouse-gas emission scenarios.

“We used the results from the past to look at the risk of future ecosystem change,” said Nolan. “We find that as temperatures rise there are bigger and bigger risks for more ecosystem change.”

Since the last ice age, the Earth has warmed seven to thirteen degrees Fahrenheit. Climate 
change research suggests that greenhouse gas emissions will drive temperatures to increase as much if not more in the next 100 to 150 years.

If this happens, the new study shows that it will completely change the Earth’s vegetation and threaten global biodiversity.

“If we allow climate change to go unchecked, the vegetation of this planet is going to look completely different than it does today, and that means a huge risk to the diversity of the planet,” said Jonathan Overpeck, a co-author of the study. “We're talking about the same amount of change in 10 to 20 thousand years that's going to be crammed into a century or two," he said. "Ecosystems are going to be scrambling to catch up.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Climate change could spur drastic changes in global vegetation

One of the biggest concerns that scientists have about the...

<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2E0mn5mTvhQ
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">'Death Star' moon Mimas conceals a 15-million-year-old ocean that scientists never expected.</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-hidden-waters-beneath-ancient-craters">Hidden waters beneath ancient craters</h2>



Scientists have made a startling discovery that challenges everything we thought we knew about <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/saturn-moon-mimas-has-remarkably-young-ocean/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Saturn's moon Mimas</a>. Beneath the heavily cratered surface that earned it the nickname "Death Star" lies a global ocean that formed just 5 to 15 million years ago—a remarkably young age by cosmic standards.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cassini-data-reveals-orbital-secrets">Cassini data reveals orbital secrets</h2>



The discovery, led by Dr. Valéry Lainey of the <a href="https://observatoiredeparis.psl.eu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Observatoire de Paris</a>, emerged from careful analysis of <a href="https://www.nasa.gov" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NASA</a>'s Cassini spacecraft data. By studying subtle irregularities in Mimas's orbit around Saturn, researchers detected the gravitational signature of liquid water hidden 20 to 30 kilometers beneath the moon's icy shell.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-an-unlikely-ocean-world">An unlikely ocean world</h2>



At only 400 kilometers in diameter, Mimas seemed like the least likely candidate to harbor a subsurface ocean. Unlike other ocean moons such as Europa and Enceladus, which show clear surface signs of internal activity, Mimas displays no obvious hints of the liquid water beneath its ancient, crater-scarred exterior.



"Mimas is a small moon, and its heavily cratered surface gave no hint of the hidden ocean beneath," explained Dr. Nick Cooper from <a href="https://www.qmul.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Queen Mary University of London</a>, a study co-author.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-implications-for-astrobiology">Implications for astrobiology</h2>



The ocean's recent formation makes Mimas a prime target for studying how oceans develop and potentially support life. This discovery adds another member to the exclusive club of ocean worlds in our solar system, each offering unique insights into the conditions necessary for habitability.



The research, published in <a href="https://www.nature.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature</a> journal, demonstrates how advanced orbital analysis can reveal hidden features of celestial bodies, opening new possibilities for understanding ocean formation throughout the cosmos.



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Scientists discover unexpected young ocean on Saturn's cratered moon Mimas

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2E0mn5mTvhQ 'Death Star' moon Mimas conceals a 15-million-year-old ocean that...

<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Y4eLFNYrKE
</div></figure>



On the unforgiving landscape of North Greenland, temperatures drop and sunlight barely penetrates through the polar winter. It was here, however, that an international team of scientists found <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/predatory-worms-were-terror-beasts-half-a-billion-years-ago/#google_vignette" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">evidence of sea monsters</a> that would change our understanding of ocean life in the past.



This video captures the discovery of Timorebestia fossils that had been hidden for more than 500 million years in the Sirius Passet formation. The "terror beasts," as they are called, are a hidden chapter in the evolutionary history of <a href="https://www.earth.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Earth</a>, showing that sophisticated predator-prey interactions occurred much earlier than previously envisioned.



Dr. Jakob Vinther and his research team at the <a href="https://www.bristol.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Bristol</a>, in collaboration with researchers at the <a href="https://eng.kopri.re.kr/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Korean Polar Research Institute</a>, braved extreme weather conditions at 82.5 north latitude to locate these giant creatures. Using sophisticated electron microprobe analysis, they revealed the detailed anatomy of the animals, including their muscle and nerve tissues.



The find upsets the traditional timeline of sea predators. Although we've long appreciated that Cambrian oceans were at one time ruled by <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWI3-UgA3_o&amp;list=PL1QLQMW9MWDwpkFOnvgAmu7wT6rZmYqdJ&amp;index=19" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">arthropods</a>, these discoveries indicate that relatives of arrow worms were first to dominate the seas. These worms were building sophisticated food webs several million years before other predator groups arose.



Each fossil is a story of ancient hunger, with fossil stomach contents revealing these meter-long beasts dined on heavily armored arthropods regularly, cementing their place as the ocean's first apex predators.



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Worms dominated seas before dinosaurs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Y4eLFNYrKE On the unforgiving landscape of North Greenland, temperatures drop...

<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ow3JH03PqEQ
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">New York is the site of the world's oldest forest.</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-385-million-year-old-trees-discovered">385-million-year-old trees discovered</h2>



Scientists have uncovered something extraordinary just two hours north of New York City. The <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/worlds-oldest-forest-discovered-close-to-new-york-city/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">world's oldest forest</a>, dating back 385 million years, offers a window into how Earth's first complex forests shaped our planet's atmosphere.



Located near <a href="https://townofcairo.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Cairo, New York</a>, in Greene County, these weren't merely primitive plants struggling to survive. These were sophisticated trees with root systems remarkably similar to modern forests. This ancient woodland predates dinosaurs by 140 million years.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-cairo-forest-discovery">The Cairo forest discovery</h2>



385 million years ago, upstate New York was a tropical paradise near the equator. Thanks to continental drift, this ancient forest has traveled thousands of miles to its current location.



The fossil forest sits in an abandoned quarry, roughly half the size of a football field. This represents just a slice of what was likely a massive forest system stretching from New York into Pennsylvania.



Charles Ver Straeten, curator of sedimentary rocks at the <a href="https://www.nysm.nysed.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">New York State Museum</a>, made the discovery in 2009. While scouting the former highway department property, his trained eye spotted wandering patterns in the stone that looked like marine features.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-revolutionary-age-and-preservation">Revolutionary age and preservation</h2>



The site contains 385-million-year-old rocks with fossilized woody roots forming horizontal patterns up to 18 feet (5.5 meters) wide. As Christopher Berry, a paleobotanist at Cardiff University, explains: "You are walking through the roots of ancient trees."



This discovery pushes back advanced tree evolution by millions of years. The research, published in <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/home" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Current Biology</a> in December 2019, fundamentally changes our understanding of when complex forests first emerged.



Researchers believe a massive flood buried the forest floor, creating perfect fossilization conditions. Over millions of years, sediment hardened into rock, preserving these root patterns like nature's time capsule.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-meet-archaeopteris-the-first-modern-tree">Meet Archaeopteris: the first modern tree</h2>



The star of this ancient forest is Archaeopteris – not to be confused with the feathered dinosaur Archaeopteryx. This tree was far older and more revolutionary.



William Stein from <a href="https://www.binghamton.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Binghamton University</a> describes the roots as "strikingly modern, essentially what you'd see outside in my yard right now." These weren't simple root systems you'd expect from ancient plants.



Some fossilized roots are six inches (15 centimeters) in diameter, forming 36-foot-wide (11-meter) patterns. These giants grew up to 65 feet (20 meters) tall with five-foot-diameter (1.5-meter) trunks.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-climate-changing-impact">Climate-changing impact</h2>



These trees fundamentally changed Earth's environment. Kevin Boyce, a Stanford University geoscientist, explains how their deep roots triggered "weathering," chemical reactions that pulled carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.



This process dropped atmospheric CO2 levels from 10-15 times higher than today to roughly modern concentrations. These ancient trees helped create atmospheric conditions that made complex life possible.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ancient-forest-ecosystem">Ancient forest ecosystem</h2>



The forest was remarkably diverse. Scientists identified Eospermatopteris, palm tree-like plants with short roots that reached 30 feet (9 meters) tall but lacked woody structure. The forest also housed cladoxylopsids and a mysterious third species still being studied.



All reproduced through spores rather than seeds – millions of years before seeds evolved. This tropical environment had no grass, flowers, or flying insects, just towering trees creating Earth's first complex forest canopy.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-scientific-significance">Scientific significance</h2>



Before this finding, the Gilboa forest, located 25 miles (40 kilometers) away, held the "oldest forest" title. Cairo's trees are 2-3 million years older, showing that complex forest ecosystems developed much faster than scientists believed possible.



Patricia Gensel, a <a href="https://www.unc.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of North Carolina</a> paleobotanist, notes: "The size of those root systems is really changing the picture. Even 20 years ago, researchers assumed trees with such complex root systems didn't evolve so early."



The Cairo site presents three unique root systems, suggesting Devonian period forests were diverse ecosystems with different trees occupying different environmental niches, much like today's forests.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-modern-preservation-efforts">Modern preservation efforts</h2>



In 2022, New York State Senator Michelle Hinchey secured a $170,000 grant for the town of Cairo to construct specialized fencing around the fossil forest site. The town plans to conduct a feasibility study exploring the possibility of creating an educational center and working lab on-site.



Joe Hasenkopf, chair of the Cairo Planning Board, hopes to partner with educational institutions to create a research facility serving scientists, students, and the public.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-lessons-for-today-s-climate">Lessons for today's climate</h2>



Why does a 385-million-year-old forest matter today? It shows how dramatically forests can change Earth's climate. These ancient woodlands created the atmospheric conditions supporting complex life.



Understanding how prehistoric forests transformed the planet helps us appreciate modern forests' critical role in addressing climate change. Forests remain Earth's most effective carbon capture systems.



These prehistoric trees changed Earth's atmosphere by pulling massive amounts of carbon dioxide from the air. As we face modern climate challenges, this ancient forest reminds us of trees' incredible power to transform our planet's environment.



The next time you walk through a forest, remember you're experiencing an ecosystem whose blueprint was established 385 million years ago in upstate New York. These ancient pioneers didn't just survive – they thrived and changed the world forever.



The full study was published in the journal Current Biology.



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Earth's oldest forest found in the United States

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ow3JH03PqEQ New York is the site of the world's oldest...

<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prrq8Ql81zk
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Acid rain and a crisis solved.</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-don-t-we-ever-hear-about-acid-rain-anymore-the-environmental-crisis-that-was-solved">Why don't we ever hear about "acid rain" anymore? The environmental crisis that was solved</h2>



Remember the 1980s when acid rain dominated headlines? Dire warnings about rain eating buildings, killing fish, and destroying forests filled every news cycle. Then, almost like magic, acid rain vanished from public discourse. What happened? Did we actually solve one of the late 20th century's most pressing environmental challenges?



The answer might surprise you. Unlike many environmental issues that drag on indefinitely, acid rain represents one of modern history's most successful ecological recovery stories. It's a tale of science, politics, and technology working together to tackle what seemed impossible.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What was acid rain?</h2>



Acid rain isn't regular rain having a bad day – it's precipitation that became significantly more acidic due to air pollution. When power plants, factories, and vehicles burn fossil fuels, they release sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) into the atmosphere.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The science behind it</h2>



Think of acid rain as nature's chemistry experiment gone wrong. These compounds react with water, oxygen, and other chemicals to form sulfuric and nitric acids. When mixed with water vapor in clouds, they create precipitation with dangerously low pH levels.



While clean rain has a pH of about 5.6, acid rain could drop as low as 4.2 to 4.4 – roughly as acidic as tomato juice or coffee. According to US Geological Survey documentation, Scottish chemist Angus Smith first coined "acid rain" in 1872, but it didn't become a household phrase until the 1960s and 1970s when Swedish scientist Svante Odén documented its devastating effects on Scandinavian lakes and European forests.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The crisis at its peak</h2>



During the height of public concern, environmental damage was both widespread and visible. This wasn't some abstract future threat – people could see destruction happening in real-time.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Environmental devastation</h2>



The most dramatic impacts were impossible to ignore. Research documented by the Adirondack Lakes Survey Corporation and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation shows that in the Adirondack Mountains, more than 200 lakes became so acidic they couldn't support fish life. The Adirondack Council reports that 409 lakes once supported brook trout, but many lost their fish populations due to acid rain.



By 1976, when scientists cataloged all acidified lakes in the Adirondack Park, researchers found that half of the lakes over 2,000 feet above sea level had no fish, according to studies published in environmental journals. The acidification process worked like a slow-motion disaster. As acid rain fell into watersheds, it gradually lowered pH levels. Fish couldn't survive in acidic water, and their food sources died off too.



Trees at high elevations showed stress directly linked to acid rain. It weakened them by leaching nutrients and making them susceptible to disease. Historical records show Germany's Black Forest saw nearly half its trees damaged by the mid-1980s.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Economic impact</h2>



Acid rain wasn't just environmental – it was expensive. Acidic precipitation corroded infrastructure, buildings, and monuments. Historic stone structures deteriorated at accelerated rates. Tourism suffered as lakes became fishless and forests declined. EPA economic analyses from the period documented repair costs mounting into billions annually.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The solution: government action and technology</h2>



Transformation from crisis to success required unprecedented cooperation between governments, industries, and environmental groups.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The Clean Air Act of 1990</h2>



The turning point came with the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, signed by President George H.W. Bush. This represented a fundamentally new approach to environmental regulation, as documented in EPA historical records.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Cap-and-trade success</h2>



Instead of mandating specific technologies, the 1990 amendments introduced something revolutionary: a cap-and-trade system for sulfur dioxide emissions. EPA program documentation shows this market-based approach set overall limits but allowed companies to trade emission allowances.



The genius was harnessing market forces to find cost-effective pollution reduction. Companies reducing emissions cheaply could sell excess allowances to those facing higher costs. Research published in environmental economics journals and EPA progress reports shows this resulted in dramatic SO2 reduction at a fraction of projected costs.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Technology advances</h2>



Policy provided the framework, but technology made reductions possible. Studies in atmospheric science journals document the widespread adoption of flue gas desulfurization systems ("scrubbers") that removed sulfur dioxide before it reached the atmosphere. By the 2000s, new installations could remove over 95% of SO2 emissions, according to EPA technical reports.



The push coincided with cleaner energy development. Natural gas produces fewer sulfur compounds than coal. Wind and solar, emerging in the 1990s, captured growing market share, reducing reliance on high-sulfur coal.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-we-don-t-hear-about-it-today">Why we don't hear about it today</h2>



Why did acid rain disappear from headlines? Simple: the problem was largely solved.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Success doesn't make news</h2>



There's an old journalism saying: "If it bleeds, it leads." Environmental success stories don't generate urgency like crisis reporting. Media attention shifted to other challenges: climate change, plastic pollution, and biodiversity loss. There's only so much environmental anxiety the public can absorb, and newer concerns replaced acid rain.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Mission accomplished</h2>



The primary reason is beautifully simple: interventions worked. EPA monitoring data shows sulfur dioxide emissions dropped over 90% since 1990. Academic research published in environmental science journals confirms pH levels in formerly affected areas returned closer to normal. This represents one of history's most dramatic environmental recoveries. Studies by the Adirondack Lakes Survey Corporation show fishless lakes now support healthy populations. Forests recovered, and building damage slowed dramatically.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-is-it-really-gone">Is it really gone?</h2>



The crisis is largely resolved, but monitoring data shows the problem isn't completely eliminated – it's managed to acceptable levels. Some areas still experience occasional events during high pollution periods. International environmental research indicates that rapidly industrializing Asian countries face similar problems to what we experienced decades ago, though they're implementing successful strategies.



EPA research shows nitrogen oxide emissions proved more challenging than sulfur dioxide, coming from vehicles and mobile sources. Climate science studies suggest changing weather patterns add complexity to how acid rain forms and falls.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What this teaches us</h2>



The acid rain experience proves that seemingly intractable environmental problems can be solved with scientific understanding, political will, and technological innovation. Environmental monitoring data shows recovery speed was remarkable – within a decade, measurable improvements appeared in air quality and ecosystem health.



Success came from bipartisan support across party lines. Policy analysis studies show the market-based approach appealed to those preferring economic incentives while achieving environmental goals. This support created lasting policy surviving political changes.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Conclusion</h2>



Acid rain's disappearance from public consciousness represents environmental science's greatest success stories. Through effective regulation, technological innovation, and international cooperation, we transformed an overwhelming crisis into a manageable challenge.



Today's silence isn't because we forgot – it's because we solved it. The 1990 Clean Air Act, combined with technology and energy market changes, reduced acid rain emissions over 90%, according to comprehensive EPA data analysis.



This success offers hope for current challenges. It proves complex problems can be solved when science, policy, and technology work together. As we face climate change and plastic pollution, acid rain reminds us that dramatic positive change is possible.



Next time someone asks whether environmental regulations work, remember acid rain. It's proof that sometimes, we get it right.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



Sources: This article draws from EPA official documentation and progress reports, peer-reviewed research published in environmental and atmospheric science journals, historical data from the Adirondack Lakes Survey Corporation, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation records, US Geological Survey publications, policy analysis studies, and environmental monitoring data collected over three decades.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Frequently Asked Questions</h2>



1. Is acid rain completely gone? No, but EPA monitoring shows it's reduced to manageable levels. US sulfur dioxide emissions dropped over 90% since 1990, making acid rain much less severe than the 1980s crisis.



2. How long did solving take? Environmental monitoring data shows significant improvements began within 5-10 years of 1990s emission controls. Full ecosystem recovery took longer – some areas need 20-30 years for complete recovery.



3. What made the solution successful? Clear scientific understanding, visible damage motivating action, bipartisan support, available technology, and innovative market-based policies like cap-and-trade.



4. Do other countries have acid rain problems? Yes, particularly rapidly industrializing Asian countries. However, international environmental research shows many implement similar successful control strategies.



5. Could acid rain return? Potentially, if regulations weaken or we return to high-sulfur coal without controls, though effects would take years to become severe according to environmental projections.



6. Can you recommend any teaching tools on the subject of "acid rain"? The United States Environmental Protection Agency produced a wonderful teacher's guide for ages 14 and under that you can find on the EPA website here: <a href="https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2017-03/documents/teachersguide.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2017-03/documents/teachersguide.pdf</a>



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The environmental problem we actually solved

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prrq8Ql81zk Acid rain and a crisis solved. Why don't we...

Fresh,Radish,Harvest,On,Soil,In,Garden.

<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...

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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

<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...

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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