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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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Digging into plant roots with DNA - no shovels required

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

Farm chemicals often go everywhere except where farmers want them. A solution from Massachusetts involving silk microneedles could keep those nutrients right where the plants need them.



Associate professor Benedetto Marelli at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (<a href="https://web.mit.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">MIT</a>) leads a team that built <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3627464/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">microneedle arrays</a> from silk to inject crops with various substances, including vitamins and minerals.



Their study, co‑authored with colleagues at the <a href="https://web.mit.edu/sma/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Singapore‑MIT</a> Alliance for Research and Technology, was recently published.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-silk-makes-sense">Why silk makes sense</h2>



Silk fibroin is tough yet biodegradable, so it can pierce a tomato stalk without lingering in the field. When the fibers dissolve, they leave no shards to clog harvesters.



They pour a salty silk mix into cone‑shaped molds, let the water evaporate, then wash the salt away to reveal hollow microneedles. The cavity holds liquid nutrients that are ready for slow release.



“Graduate students can make thousands of tips in an afternoon, with no clean room. It can be done outside of a clean room, you could do it in your kitchen if you wanted,” ,” said Doyoon Kim, a former MIT postdoc.



Unlike metal or plastic, silk proteins are gentle on living tissue, an idea that first drew medical engineers to microneedles for painless vaccine delivery two decades ago. That gentleness matters for living stems.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-silk-microneedles-don-t-prick-the-planet">Silk microneedles don't prick the planet</h2>



Pesticide sprays and dusts drift on the wind or seep into groundwater. <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7908628/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Reviews</a> show that most of the active chemicals never reach their target leaves, instead soaking the soil and surrounding air.



In contrast, the microneedles anchor inside the plant’s vascular tissue and every milligram of pesticide stays put. That precision means farmers could use far less chemical per acre.



Kim injected iron into chlorotic tomatoes and found the yellowing reversed without any visible damage to the stems. The treatment ran for days because the hollow cores meter out the dose slowly.



“There's a big need to make agriculture more efficient,” said Benedetto Marelli. <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2021.631529/full" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Iron deficiency</a> chlorosis can trim tomato yields by as much as thirty percent.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-boosting-nutrition-at-the-source">Boosting nutrition at the source</h2>



Silk needles are not limited to farm inputs; they carry human <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/vitamin-c-promotes-skin-renewal-and-anti-aging-at-the-genetic-level-dna-demethylation/">vitamins</a> too. The team loaded vitamin B12, a nutrient absent from most plants, into the stalks of greenhouse tomatoes.



Lab tests confirmed that the vitamin traveled from stem to fruit before harvest, opening a path to <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9501456/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">on‑vine biofortification</a>. That could help plant‑based eaters who struggle to meet B12 needs because the vitamin comes mainly from animal foods .



“This new delivery mechanism opens up a lot of potential applications, so we wanted to do something nobody had done before,” Marelli explained. The professor’s lab focuses on using sustainable materials.



The same approach could ferry zinc, iodine, or folate, reducing the cost of fortified staples that are now sprayed or blended after harvest. Researchers see similar potential for chili peppers and strawberries.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-silk-microneedles-for-sample-collection">Silk microneedles for sample collection</h2>



The hollow silk microneedles also work in reverse, sipping sap for analysis. In hydroponic trials the needles detected cadmium in tomato stalks fifteen minutes after exposure.



Current spectral cameras spot stress only after leaves go pale, but sap sampling flags trouble while the crop still looks normal. Early warnings mean early fixes.



Researchers monitored cadmium levels over an 18‑hour window without removing the probes. Continuous readings beat labor‑intensive stem punctures that growers rarely perform.



With the right sensor package a robot could patrol rows, plug in a microneedle, and upload chemistry to a phone in real time. Such automation is already common in high‑tech greenhouses.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-from-lab-bench-to-field-rows">From lab bench to field rows</h2>



At present, a graduate student presses each patch onto a petiole by hand. Marelli imagines repurposing existing auto‑grafting arms or drone sprayers to stamp whole orchards.



“There shouldn't be a trade‑off between the agriculture industry and the environment,” said Marelli. He argues for tools that boost yields without harming biodiversity.



Farmers, meanwhile, will want proof that the extra step pays for itself and that devices do not clog or snap during harvest. Field economics will depend on automating placement and refilling nutrient reservoirs without slowing crews.



Pilot tests on open‑air <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/tomato-plants-talk-to-one-another-to-signal-danger/">tomato</a> plots are scheduled for the coming season, with attention to labor costs, residue testing, and yield bumps. Results will guide scale‑up strategies.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-are-silk-microneedles-cost-effective">Are silk microneedles cost effective?</h2>



Silk cocoons are already spun at scale for surgical sutures, so the supply chain exists. Commodity prices fluctuate, but current estimates put the raw protein at a few cents per needle.



The molds can be reused hundreds of times, and the salt reagent is recovered and recycled. That circular chemistry keeps manufacturing overhead low.



Researchers calculate that a single <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/greenhouse-gases-can-help-detect-alien-life-on-distant-planets/">greenhouse</a> could recoup microneedle hardware costs within one harvest cycle if even a five‑percent yield gain holds true. Independent trials will verify those numbers under field stress.



Investors are interested because the technology fits within existing smart‑farm systems, pairing well with sensors and autonomous vehicles already roaming high‑value crops. Early venture funding talks are under way.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-comes-next">What comes next</h2>



The Massachusetts team is already talking with seed companies about combining the needles with seedling clips. That marriage could roll nutrition and monitoring into a single transplant step.



Beyond food, similar silk <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/worlds-first-gene-edited-spiders-spin-red-silk/">structures</a> could deliver growth factors to tree seedlings in reforestation projects or vaccines to cash crops threatened by viral blights. Microneedles began in clinics and now stand to branch into orchards and vineyards.



Researchers in Singapore are evaluating whether the same platform can log <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-finally-learn-what-makes-plants-roots-grow-faster-and-stronger-autophagy/">plant</a> hormones in rice paddies that are battered by heat waves. Their results will shape the next generation of silk microneedle sensors for climate‑ready farming.



Their journey shows how ideas migrate when materials meet imagination. If the field trials match the lab promise, tomorrow’s tomatoes might quietly get their vitamins straight from a silk straw.



The study is published in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41565-025-01923-2" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature Nanotechnology</a>.



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MIT scientists invent new technology that grows much healthier fruits and vegetables

Farm chemicals often go everywhere except where farmers want them....

An electric current can clear vineyard weeds as effectively as herbicides and mowing, scientists have shown. It offers growers a chemical‑free option that performs well in real‑world conditions while posing only a minor seasonal fire risk.



The discovery comes from research led by  Catherine Borger and Miranda Slaven from <a href="https://www.wa.gov.au/organisation/department-of-primary-industries-and-regional-development">Western Australia’s Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development</a>. 



Working with the <a href="https://zasso.com/">Zasso XPower</a> system, the team compared electric weeding with glyphosate spraying and mowing during two consecutive spring seasons.



The findings give fresh momentum to electric <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/boosting-crop-colors-with-gene-editing-can-improve-weed-control/">weed control</a> at a time when herbicide resistance and consumer concern over chemical residues are on the rise.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-testing-high-voltage-weeding">Testing high-voltage weeding</h2>



The trials took place in 2022 and 2023 at four commercial <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/wine-production-in-a-warming-world-the-winners-and-losers/">vineyards</a> near Yallingup, a cool‑climate wine region south of Perth. 



Each site carried dense spring growth. It was dominated by annual <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fairy-circles-kill-all-newly-planted-grasses-deepening-their-mystery/">grasses</a> such as rigid ryegrass and long‑flowered veldtgrass, as well as sprawling legumes and hardy kikuyu.



Researchers mounted a 36 kW power unit on a tractor and fitted retractable electrode arrays to reach beneath vine canopies.



Traveling at a cautious 0.7 to 0.9 mph, they applied either the full 48-horsepower or a reduced 32-horsepower setting to each vine row.



Parallel plots received a standard tank mix of glyphosate plus amitrole or were mown at a height of 2 inches.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-effective-alternative-to-herbicides">Effective alternative to herbicides</h2>



The researchers harvested the biomass five weeks later, and the numbers were clear.



Electric weeding at either power level removed 84 to 87 percent of weed mass. This matched the 88 percent weed removal rate that glyphosate achieved. Mowing lagged behind at 65 percent.



“We show electric weed control in viticulture has comparable efficiency to that achieved by herbicides,” Borger said.



Just as important for growers, repeated NDVI scans confirmed that neither voltage setting injured the grapevines themselves; canopy greenness and shoot growth were identical across all treatments.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-good-fit-for-organics">Good fit for organics</h2>



Electric pulses kill by puncturing plant tissues and burning roots, and they bring several advantages that chemicals cannot match.



“These advantages include no chemical residues in the environment or food, no rain‑fast period after application, no restrictions on use in windy conditions, no chemical resistance and no impacts on neighboring vegetation or waterways," noted Borger.



The benefits carry particular weight in Australian viticulture. More than six percent of production is now certified organic, and herbicide‑resistant ryegrass threatens many conventional blocks.



“Electric weed control will be of particular importance for organic growers,” Borger added.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-limits-of-electric-weeding">Limits of electric weeding</h2>



The technology is not without drawbacks. The disadvantages include slow application speed and high fuel usage.



Fire was the other concern. To quantify the danger, the researchers applied electricity to plots covered with dry barley straw and oat hay. 



Sparks ignited debris only when plant residues were bone‑dry and the tractor moved slowly. Doubling ground speed cut sparks by 90 percent. Real vineyard passes in damp spring conditions produced no ignition at all.



“In every field experiment we conducted during spring, there were zero fires, and this is the most common time of year for weed management in Western Australia,” Borger said.



“Electric weed control is suitable for use in winter/spring weed management within the Mediterranean climate but not for control of summer or autumn weeds.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-integrating-electric-weeding">Integrating electric weeding</h2>



Taken together, the findings suggest a practical pathway for growers. Electric treatment can substitute for one or two spring herbicide applications, reducing chemical load and slowing resistance. Conventional spraying or mowing can still tidy escapes later in the season.



Adoption may accelerate as autonomous tractors become common in vineyards. Slow operating speeds are far less costly when machines can run unattended.



Further work will test performance at higher speeds, different soil moistures, and against perennial weeds with deeper reserves.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-sustainable-weed-control">Sustainable weed control</h2>



By proving that electric weeders can match chemicals under commercial conditions, Borger’s team has electrified the weed‑control debate. They have also supplied rare quantitative data on fire risk, giving growers concrete guidance on when and how to use the tools safely.



If follow‑up trials confirm similar benefits in orchards and row‑crop systems, voltage could become a central pillar of integrated weed management. 



Electric weed control would help farmers meet market demands for cleaner produce while protecting the efficacy of precious herbicides.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/weed-science/article/electric-weed-controlhow-does-it-compare-to-conventional-weed-control-methods/488C45B191B97E84E34257E80EB9CFC6">Weed Science</a>.



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Killing weeds without chemicals - the future may be electric

An electric current can clear vineyard weeds as effectively as...

When foresters talk about bringing a scarred hillside back to life, most of the future trees are already waiting underground, tucked inside a living soil seed bank that can lie dormant for years. 



A new nationwide Chinese survey suggests that the health of that hidden reserve depends as much on human planting choices as on climate.



“This is our most exciting find to date!” reported Xiali Guo of <a href="https://english.xju.edu.cn/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Xinjiang Normal University</a>, who led the analysis.



The study examined 920 forest plots and found that planted stands held an average of 3.137 viable seeds per square yard of topsoil, compared with 2.876 in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/soil-is-losing-nitrogen-along-with-its-climate-fighting-power/">natural</a> stands.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-buried-seeds-help-forest-recovery">Buried seeds help forest recovery</h2>



Soil seed banks work like an ecological savings account, releasing seedlings after fire, logging, or drought has wiped the slate clean. Most seeds that land on the surface either decay or are eaten, so those that are buried provide critical insurance.



Guo’s team sampled 537 natural and 383 planted stands, from moist subtropical valleys to arid northern slopes. The higher seed counts in plantations appeared even in regions where native forests boasted greater above ground <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/global-warming-may-trigger-rapid-release-of-soil-carbon/">diversity</a>.



The contrast surprised some ecologists because plantations are often criticized for being species poor. Here, however, management practices such as dense spacing and periodic thinning may create micro sites that trap seeds and shield them from predators.



Seed longevity also differs by depth. Most of the buried treasure sits in the top four inches of soil where oxygen is scarce but moisture is steady.



That layer was the focus of the new survey, ensuring the counts reflected seeds capable of germinating after common disturbances like fire or plowing. The team avoided freshly fallen litter and tested only the persistent layer of the seed bank.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-climate-and-light-affect-seed-survival">Climate and light affect seed survival</h2>



Temperature and rainfall each left a clear fingerprint on the buried seed <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/agricultural-soil-is-now-the-worlds-biggest-plastic-dumping-ground/">reserve</a>, and the direction was counterintuitive. 



In both forest types, every 1°F rise in mean annual temperature and each extra inch of rain per year nudged seed density downward, a trend echoed in long term seed viability tests where warmth accelerates aging.



Laboratory work shows that seeds stored at 95°F lose viability far faster than those kept cool, supporting the field pattern. Rising heat also boosts soil dwelling insects and fungi that prey on seeds, shrinking the bank before germination can occur.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-rainfall-and-seed-density">Rainfall and seed density</h2>



Rain can have similarly mixed effects. On loamy desert soils, additional summer showers boosted the number of annual herb seeds by up to <a href="https://ecologicalprocesses.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s13717-021-00346-w" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">40 percent</a>, yet washed away or rotted others.



Guo’s data mirrored that complexity, with natural forests showing sharper swings in seed density along the rainfall gradient than plantations, a hint that mixed species stands are more climatically sensitive. Sunlight and evaporative demand told a different story.



Areas soaking up longer daylight hours tended to host richer seed banks, perhaps because parent trees in sunnier spots invest more in reproduction when moisture is not limiting. 



Soil moisture loss, measured as evapotranspiration, had a similar effect, likely tied to shifts in species composition.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-soil-nutrients-control-seed-numbers">Soil nutrients control seed numbers</h2>



Soil chemistry turned out to be the heavyweight driver, explaining roughly one third of the variation in seed numbers. Nitrogen stood out in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/soil-footprint-a-new-frontier-in-sustainable-farming/">plantations</a>, where each additional tenth of a percent of total N corresponded with thicker seed stores.



The connection fits greenhouse <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ece3.5151" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">observations</a> showing that heavy nitrogen deposition can shift germination patterns by altering competitive dynamics in favor of fewer, more aggressive species. In Guo’s plots, though, the added nitrogen seemed to bolster overall seed counts rather than squeeze diversity.



Natural forests responded more strongly to soil pH, with seed density dropping as pH climbed toward neutral. Field burial experiments in English grasslands likewise recorded fewer persistent seeds in soils above pH 5.6, an effect linked partly to faster fungal decay.



These contrasting nutrient controls suggest that managers cannot use a one size fits all fertilization recipe. Instead, they need location specific targets, nitrogen for plantations, pH buffering for native stands, to keep the hidden seed reserve healthy.



<a href="https://www.usgs.gov/special-topics/water-science-school/science/phosphorus-and-water" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Phosphorus</a> told a subtler story, trimming seed density in plantations when it climbed above about 0.15 percent of dry soil. The authors think luxuriant phosphorus may let young trees invest in wood growth and canopy spread rather than in producing the next generation of seeds.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tree-traits-shape-underground-seed-bank">Tree traits shape underground seed bank</h2>



Beyond dirt and weather, the way a stand is built matters. Older trees with wider trunks were linked to richer seed banks, probably because mature canopies have had more seasons to contribute litter and fruit.



High planting density told the opposite tale, trimming seed density as tightly packed crowns shaded out under story species and limited seed rain. That pattern aligns with classic regeneration theory that light starved floors tend to be seed poor.



Leaf traits joined the list of subtle influences. Plantations dominated by fast growing species with flimsy, nitrogen rich leaves produced fewer buried seeds per adult tree, hinting at a trade off between rapid growth and reproductive output.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-lessons-for-tomorrow-s-forests">Lessons for tomorrow’s forests</h2>



For practitioners tasked with re-greening degraded land, the take home is refreshingly actionable. Boosting <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/soil-is-losing-nitrogen-along-with-its-climate-fighting-power/">soil nitrogen</a> in plantations and keeping pH below about 5.5 in natural stands could raise the seed cushion that smooths post disturbance recovery.



The findings also challenge the notion that plantations are ecological deserts. While they may hold fewer above ground species, their subterranean diversity vault can be surprisingly full, offering an unplanned bonus for large scale restoration.



Policy designers interested in climate smart forestry now have one more lever to pull. Matching plantation designs to local soils and expected warming trends can lock extra resilience into the ground before the first seedling is ever planted.



“Planted forests consistently harbor denser seed banks than natural forests, offering crucial regeneration potential,” Guo concluded. 



As global pledges push for billions of new trees, remembering the seeds already at hand could make those promises cheaper and faster to keep.&nbsp;



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.maxapress.com/article/doi/10.48130/seedbio-0024-0020" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Seed Biology</a>.



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Buried seeds in soil help forests recover faster after damage

When foresters talk about bringing a scarred hillside back to...

Woman,Using,Phone,While,Sitting,Cozy,On,A,Porch,At

Researchers in Texas report that people living in neighborhoods surrounded by nature and greenspaces have dramatically lower rates of bipolar disorder, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/teenagers-with-anxiety-or-depression-spend-more-time-on-social-media-according-to-experts/">depression</a>, and other mental health maladies, according to an analysis of 61 million outpatient visits across 1,169 urban ZIP codes.



The work suggests that crossing a NatureScore threshold of 40 marks a turning point, with the probability of needing treatment for bipolar disorder dropping by roughly two‑thirds and depression by half.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-nature-cities-and-human-health">Nature, cities, and human health</h2>



“Our study was the first to use NatureScore, which provides more complex data, to study the correlation between urban nature exposure and mental health,” explained <a href="https://public-health.tamu.edu/directory/maddock.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Jay Maddock</a> of <a href="https://public-health.tamu.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Texas A&amp;M University</a>.



Maddock’s team partnered with <a href="https://www.houstonmethodistcareers.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Houston Methodist</a> and <a href="https://texanbynature.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Texan by Nature</a> to match hospital records with satellite imagery, tree‑canopy maps, and pollution readings.



More than one in five American adults lives with a mental health disorder, yet many cities keep losing trees to development.



Researchers worldwide have been searching for neighborhood‑level indicators that planners can act on, and composite measures like NatureScore are starting to fill that gap.



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



The Texas data painted a steady downward slope: mental health visits fell as NatureScore climbed from the “Deficient” band below 40 to the “Utopia” band above 80.



Neighborhoods rated 60 or higher logged only half as many <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-to-maximize-the-mental-health-benefits-of-exercise/">mental‑health</a> outpatient encounters as those below 60, even after adjusting for income, education, insurance, and race.



Women made up 63 percent of the sample, yet the protective effect of vegetation held for men and women alike.



Zip codes with more trees also tended to have older residents and higher employment, but the statistical models removed those factors and still found the green advantage.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-nature-boost-brain-health-by-60">How nature boost brain health by 60%</h2>



Brains appear to settle down when the eyes land on leaves instead of concrete, lowering cortisol and quieting neural circuits that loop negative thoughts.



A controlled <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/259512509_The_influence_of_urban_green_environments_on_stress_relief_measures_A_field_experiment" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">trial</a> in Finland reported that a 15‑minute walk through an urban forest lifted mood scores more than a similar walk along a busy street.



Trees also buffer noise and filter fine particles, so cleaner, quieter streets may reduce the chronic stress that can trigger mood swings.



Green streets invite more walking, and routine physical activity is known to cut depression risk by about a quarter.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-counts-as-enough-green">What counts as enough green</h2>



<a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=9kFH1fYAAAAJ&amp;hl=en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Omar M. Makram</a>, the study’s lead author, pointed out that “a NatureScore above 40, considered Nature Adequate, seems to be the threshold for good mental health.”



In practice, that threshold equates to roughly one mature street tree every 50 feet, a patch of park within a quarter‑mile, and low nighttime glare, according to the <a href="https://www.naturequant.com/naturescore/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NatureQuant</a> methodology.



For planners, the 40‑point line offers a clear performance target that can be checked for any address in the United States.



Public health agencies could layer NatureScore onto routine surveillance maps and flag hot spots where the score falls short and psychiatric visits pile up.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-planning-cities-with-health-in-mind">Planning cities with health in mind</h2>



Austin’s tree‑planting master plan already aims to shade 50 percent of the city by 2050, citing heat and mental health benefits.



Chicago and <a href="https://louisvilleky.gov/government/sustainability/services/green-infrastructure-incentives" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Louisville</a> are experimenting with “green alleys,” retrofitting paved lanes with bioswales and saplings to raise neighborhood scores without buying new parkland.



These micro‑projects are cheaper than psychiatric hospital stays, which can exceed $8,000 for a single visit, and they generate co‑benefits like storm‑water capture and bird habitat.



Maddock’s group argues that hospitals and insurers should help fund urban greening because lower utilization eases pressure on crowded clinics.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-limitations-and-next-steps">Limitations and next steps</h2>



The study relied on ZIP‑code averages, so exposure may have been misclassified for people living on the edge of a park or a freeway.



Records stopped in mid‑2019, leaving out the COVID‑19 era, when many clinics switched to telehealth and park use spiked.



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/do-humans-and-ai-work-better-together/">Future work</a> will track individual addresses and smartphone GPS trails to test whether time spent in nature matters more than leafy views from a kitchen window.



The team is also exploring whether childhood exposure to green streets guards against first‑episode bipolar disorder later in life.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-growing-policy-consensus">A growing policy consensus</h2>



“Increasing green space in cities could promote well‑being and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/preserving-your-cultural-traditions-drastically-improves-mental-health/">mental health</a>,” noted Omar M. Makram, who now consults for several municipal planning departments.



His statement sums up a growing consensus: planting trees is a mental‑health intervention that can fit on a sidewalk.



As urban populations climb, quantifying how much greenery keeps minds stable could shape zoning codes as powerfully as traffic engineering ever did.



The study is published in the <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/21/2/168" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health</a>.



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Living near nature and greenspaces shown to reduce mental health issues by 60%

Researchers in Texas report that people living in neighborhoods surrounded...

Aspen trees, long admired for their beauty, may also be powerful allies in wildfire defense. A new study reveals that aspen forests can slow wildfires or even stop them entirely. The researchers looked at 314 wildfires across the Four Corners region between 2001 and 2020.



The team discovered that even small increases in aspen cover reduced fire spread. Daily fire growth dropped from over 1,100 hectares to just 368 hectares where aspen cover exceeded 25 percent. The research shows how aspen stands can work like natural <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/wildfire-seasons-are-now-overlapping-worldwide/">firebreaks</a>.



Study co-author Camille Stevens-Rumann is an associate professor of forest and rangeland stewardship at <a href="https://www.googleadservices.com/pagead/aclk?sa=L&amp;ai=DChsSEwiA8d2KmsSOAxV7Ha0GHTydJiAYACICCAEQABoCcHY&amp;ae=2&amp;co=1&amp;ase=3&amp;agsac=WSzQGi9fupA&amp;gclid=CjwKCAjwvuLDBhAOEiwAPtF0VvDkxM68atE0hzajpCpwrMe24lEHXOSwVutUvw84cPX2BysJJ2eskhoCUroQAvD_BwE&amp;ei=FxZ5aMjFFsGo0PEPs9jsuA0&amp;ohost=www.google.com&amp;cid=CAESwwHg9kzbdMEryDyc7pk-9MOgOrKHc7cMTIF0G6ZsM0D2PJUpift_Q4S3ecWuFTmhlQXjWRxCVGbRflQ_7EvzOmQUxpksK3XjbJ8LjeVG5ZQkfxcHkPJydOp6-ZJOtCCajsLxWE4SQuqxaiO_DdhAnxFMwdP0qeMH20OxzApcNao_qxEKsuKuSlNylmWnUi5AdKmueQLRNsW4u1sw_PfNXq35SEzNXBphGOCrLGOkToEzUy3z7zSchJ7Ue-Vih746BImLwVc&amp;sig=AOD64_3MAeRUmbBQqepNuOcbnIXyZ96t8Q&amp;q&amp;sqi=2&amp;adurl&amp;ved=2ahUKEwiIrdiKmsSOAxVBFDQIHTMsG9cQ0Qx6BAgTEAE&amp;ms=CoACUlSkG05Cs3Fm4sA9v7CZdXwaUYWgIPZKVjPN0oyvBswcyW9a95LuMEiM7bkdxxgRIFJMZQ66WdZKTZtycckRazNVWDdflJDr-tClbsz3m45gUR3DXKzI9uIGU6fESdVlm41lPifH5SLLv6awmDB-YdMVdJ1jc6kb4TRCdcKgOx9EzZgWgjmgVq3fpag5jQXRDyYmOUwDStf53i2OJdj0e1Ux9gME9tKaqygrPiS5co6oHzOQI-fTCbnqncM4YbzWcbYWSG74tMsS0VPMsMtn04A6jUkiH8LFLJkLNzV0Y91UBGC4zWLpcDmSadS9Ff_mB4Af7ts9re2GEKxUO-1GLwqAAiZJeyMuX0MPh0nKj6nrwQxx5XwQndxpncGphRUQw71wnhflX5pDL6w3n0aWgdIWG_xC_9DdHftnEd65ywZBxO1OWD9bXvIGgkKcslaq14M4ivLUHGaVeDEhwETD771_WromHppfg9vPrr61o5R7YFLnN49428HIHTyY9VzKGhcXKpysNy25tEtb1yKiPakXfsxg0DeXyUaHY9q7e_Oza1s9zeXirHV3GzTBY7vqZ_Z1UhoE5OCbQBPUJHnhEQ4pzdd4w-xDxxn1fjnvMlApJPQ3I5TYkrgc6UuScJvcO2CS-IgXXmN7e-Sd37nYpgQYaf_926zSNVdeNABxi08LTJ0SEG91ZYMjMf5m7jBLDg9Q41o&amp;nis=12&amp;uk=1752765978850&amp;dct=1&amp;suid=48698778863">Colorado State University</a>.



“Where managers can encourage aspen over conifers, they may represent a more desirable fuel treatment in some forest types than traditional thinning or shaded firebreaks because of the aesthetic value and wildlife habitat aspen provide,” said Stevens-Rumann.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-barriers-that-stop-wildfires">Barriers that stop wildfires</h2>



The researchers found that aspen was more abundant at <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/wildfires-are-changing-the-quality-of-our-air/">fire</a> edges than in the interior. The pattern suggests aspen helped form fire boundaries. This makes them a natural shield, especially useful for land managers.



“My hope is that this research can help inform fire and fuels management focused on propagation of aspen through prescribed fire. In some settings, aspen might even be planted around communities to form green fuel breaks for fire protection,” noted study lead author Matt Harris, a recent <a href="https://western.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Western Colorado</a> graduate.



The researchers used satellite data to measure daily fire growth. Fire spread slowed as aspen coverage increased, even under extreme conditions like high winds and low humidity.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-aspen-resists-wildfires">Why aspen resists wildfires</h2>



Aspen trees carry unique traits that help them resist burning. Their leaves and understory hold more moisture. Their branches stay high, making crown fires less likely. And their chemical makeup makes them less flammable than conifers.



Daily fire spread dropped from over 2000 meters to under 1350 meters when aspen cover passed 25%. That’s a sharp decline with important implications.



The researchers also found that aspen’s effectiveness did not vary much with weather. While climate factors did affect total fire spread, they didn’t change aspen’s relative performance against conifers.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-aspen-in-the-late-fire-season">Aspen in the late fire season</h2>



One pattern did emerge with timing. Aspen tended to be more effective wildfire stoppers later in the season. In early spring, fires could still move through before the leaves fully emerged.



During summer, when aspen foliage reaches peak moisture, the trees became more effective buffers. Still, this trend was mild and not uniform across all <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-is-making-wildfire-smoke-more-deadly/">fires</a>.



The study supports using aspen in green fuel breaks. These natural buffers could slow fire in forest landscapes while offering habitat and scenic value.



“This research is a direct result of long-term federal investment in understanding wildfire and forest dynamics," noted study co-author Jonathan Coop. 



"The wildfire challenges we face in the western U.S. continue to grow every year, and we require good science to inform solutions to protect communities and sustain the ecosystem functions we depend on, from water to timber."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-aspen-forests-boost-wildfire-resistance">Aspen forests boost wildfire resistance</h2>



Aspen spreads quickly after disturbance. It regenerates through root suckers, seeds, and sprouts on bare ground. As fire activity increases due to climate change, aspen may expand naturally in some places.



However, that is not guaranteed. Land use, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/forests-now-emit-more-carbon-than-they-store-due-to-wildfires/">fire</a> suppression, and conifer growth have reduced aspen in many areas. Interventions like prescribed fire or planting may help restore it.



Aspen forests also bring more than fire resistance. They boost soil moisture and provide habitats for birds and mammals. They offer high aesthetic and ecological value, making them ideal for landscape-scale planning.



Fire managers might now see aspen as more than just a background species. In fire-prone areas, these trees can help slow or stop wildfires. While more research is needed to investigate the costs and effectiveness, this study makes a clear case.



Aspen forests may not replace traditional fire treatments, but they offer a natural option that blends beauty, biodiversity, and fire resistance. In a drier, hotter future, that combination could become invaluable.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/eap.70061" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ecological Applications</a>.



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How aspen forests can help stop wildfires in their tracks

Aspen trees, long admired for their beauty, may also be...

Wild tomatoes rooted on the raw lava of Fernandina and Isabela Islands have done something biologists once filed under “nearly impossible,” reviving a molecular defense that disappeared from their relatives millions of years ago during species evolution.



The phenomenon has been traced to a tiny tweak in the plants’ chemistry, and it now stands as the clearest plant example of reverse evolution, the re‑emergence of an ancestral trait after a long dormancy. 



Lead author <a href="https://profiles.ucr.edu/app/home/profile/adamj" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Adam Jozwiak</a> at the <a href="https://www.ucr.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of California, Riverside</a>, working with colleagues from the Weizmann Institute, mapped the unexpected comeback.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-evolution-of-wild-tomatoes">Evolution of wild tomatoes</h2>



Wild tomatoes on the islands produce a mix of bitter chemicals that help protect them from insects and animals that might try to eat them.



On the youngest islands, the mix has shifted toward an older type of toxin usually found in eggplants, not <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ripening-tomatoes-may-hold-clues-to-delay-human-aging/">modern tomatoes</a>, showing that this ancient version can still work better under harsh conditions like lava soil and intense heat.



The change comes down to a single enzyme in the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/tomato-plants-talk-to-one-another-to-signal-danger/">plant</a> that decides how its natural defense chemicals are made. 



By slightly altering this enzyme, the plant switches back to an older version of its toxin that had been lost for millions of years.



“Just four amino acids changed everything,” reported the study team, noting that the modified enzyme brought back the older, more aggressive version of the toxin. It wasn’t a random mutation, but a precise shift that reactivated a long-dormant chemical pathway.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-life-on-lava-and-sand">Life on lava and sand</h2>



The western Galápagos islands are among the youngest in the chain, with rugged volcanic ground and almost no soil. Plants growing there face intense heat, limited nutrients, and constant threats from insects and animals.



In those conditions, bringing back a stronger chemical defense gives the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/space-tomatoes-are-ready-for-an-unprecedented-mission/">tomatoes</a> a better chance of surviving, and evolution seems to have reached into the plant’s genetic history instead of creating something entirely new.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-when-tomato-evolution-hits-reverse">When tomato evolution hits reverse</h2>



Although it was once assumed that lost traits almost never return, <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rstb.2009.0154" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">research</a> shows that evolution can sometimes retrace its steps.&nbsp;



In some cases, structures that disappeared for millions of years have reappeared, such as larval stages in salamanders or wings in certain insects. 



These reversals challenge the old idea that evolution always moves in one direction and suggest that dormant genetic pathways can be reactivated when conditions shift. 



The tomato work tightens the evidence because stereochemistry can be measured atom by atom, making accidental convergence unlikely.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-lessons-for-crop-science">Lessons for crop science</h2>



Changing four amino acids in <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/figure/GAME8-is-a-source-of-SGA-stereodiversity-in-Solanum-species-a-Phylogenetic-analysis-of_fig2_392798532" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">GAME8</a> inside greenhouse tobacco forced the host to synthesize the ancestral toxin, showing that minimal editing is enough to remodel an entire metabolic branch.



Researchers now wonder whether carefully steering stereochemistry could dial pest resistance up or down in other crops while avoiding off‑flavors that plague tomato breeders. 



Island survey data hint at an evolutionary gradient: <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/reverse-evolution-these-wild-tomatoes-are-turning-back-time/">tomatoes</a> on older eastern islands keep the modern toxin, central islands sit in the middle, and the youngest lava fields host plants in nearly full chemical retreat.



That pattern suggests evolution’s arrow is flexible, and under shifting climates crops might again reach backward for solutions thought obsolete.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-four-amino-acids-changed-the-story">How four amino acids changed the story</h2>



Most enzymes are highly specific, and even minor alterations can break them. But in this case, the GAME8 enzyme was surprisingly flexible.



By replacing just four amino acids in its active site, scientists restored the enzyme’s older behavior, allowing the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/tomatoes-acylsugars-parallel-universe-plant-kingdom-evolution/">plant</a> to make the ancient version of its chemical defense again.&nbsp;



This kind of precise control over a plant's internal chemistry is unusual and suggests that nature sometimes keeps old instructions ready to use when needed.&nbsp;



The researchers used molecular docking and structural models to predict which amino acids made the difference. 



Lab tests confirmed their predictions, highlighting how small tweaks in sequence can flip a tomato plant's entire <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/tomato-plants-talk-to-one-another-to-signal-danger/">chemical output</a>.



This work also demonstrates how directed enzyme evolution, a common tool in biotechnology, occurs naturally under harsh selection pressures like those on the Galápagos lava fields.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-impacts-beyond-tomatoes">Impacts beyond tomatoes</h2>



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/gene-modification-can-create-better-tomatoes-eggplants-but-should-we-do-it/">Tomatoes</a> belong to the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/solanaceae" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Solanaceae family</a>, which includes peppers, potatoes, and tobacco. All of them produce related alkaloids, and this study suggests they might also hold buried chemical routes.



Understanding how GAME8 evolved can help scientists modify alkaloid profiles in related plants, potentially unlocking medicinal or agricultural uses with more precision.



Some glycoalkaloids are mildly toxic to humans, and breeders often try to reduce them. But with the ability to dial in the stereochemistry, it might be possible to keep the benefits while avoiding the downsides.



This also raises fresh questions for evolutionary theory, particularly around how often so-called “lost” traits are truly gone, or just waiting for the right trigger to come back.



The study is published in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-59290-4" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature Communications</a>.



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Scientists find a surprising case of 'reverse evolution' in wild tomatoes

Wild tomatoes rooted on the raw lava of Fernandina and...

Greenland’s ice-covered landscape looks like an immovable block on satellite maps. Yet the story locked beneath its center suggests a very different past, one that places future coastal cities in a tight spot. 



During the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/social-sciences/pleistocene">Pleistocene</a> - the geologic chapter that began about 2.7 million years ago and ran through innumerable swings between cold and mild - the island’s ice waxed and waned in tune with global climate.



New evidence hints that those swings were more dramatic than scientists once believed.



In&nbsp;1993, drillers hauled a two‑mile‑deep ice core up from the island’s highest point and stowed the entire column in a Colorado freezer. 



The surprise awaited in the bottom three inches of sediment: perfectly preserved traces of a tundra ecosystem. 



That sliver of soil, shielded for ages by roughly 1.9 miles (3 km) of ice, now refocuses the conversation about <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-much-did-sea-levels-rise-after-the-last-ice-age-alarming-new-clues-revealed/">future sea level</a> and the stability of polar ice in a warming world.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tundra-hidden-beneath-greenland-s-ice">Tundra hidden beneath Greenland's ice</h2>



Once the drill broke through that 1.9‑mile roof of ice, the researchers retrieved those three inches of till. 



“These fossils are beautiful,” says Paul&nbsp;Bierman, a scientist at the <a href="https://www.uvm.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Vermont</a> who co‑led the new study with UVM graduate student Halley&nbsp;Mastro and nine other researchers.



“But, yes, we go from bad to worse,” Bierman added, referring to what this finding implies about the impact of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/indisputable-evidence-of-human-caused-climate-change/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">human‑caused climate change</a> on melting of the Greenland ice sheet.



The till holds poppy, spike‑moss, woody willow tissue, fungal sclerotia, insect parts, and a band of soil capped by about&nbsp;16&nbsp;inches of erratic boulders. 



This is clear evidence that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/drones-reveal-hidden-details-about-greenlands-melting-ice/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">central Greenland</a> once lay ice‑free under a cold, dry sky where late‑lying snow lingered through early summer.



Because the material sits undisturbed, the team is confident it was not swept in from elsewhere as ice advanced.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-inside-a-deep-greenland-ice-core">Inside a deep Greenland ice core</h2>



“Once we made the discovery at Camp&nbsp;Century, we thought, ‘Hey, what's at the bottom of&nbsp;GISP2?’” Bierman recalled.



High‑energy isotope ratios show that the summit last saw open air within the past 1.1 million years, while argon trapped in overlying clear ice indicates at least 250,000 years of continuous cover since then. 



<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-47351-z" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Basal ice</a> at another drilling site about 19 miles away is roughly 1 million years old.



A separate core from Camp&nbsp;Century <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/city-under-the-ice-secret-base-camp-found-in-greenland/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">near the coast</a> yielded plant remains no older than&nbsp;416,000&nbsp;years, underscoring the ice sheet’s flickering presence across the Pleistocene. 



These findings draw on material that had been stored at the National Science Foundation <a href="https://icecores.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ice Core Facility</a> in Lakewood, Colorado, for three decades.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-fossils-divulge-a-warmer-greenland">Fossils divulge a warmer Greenland</h2>



Under the microscope, what had looked like no more than specks floating on the surface of the melted core sample was, in fact, a window into a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/greenland-transformation-ice-melt-plant-growth-vegetation-cascading-effects/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tundra landscape</a>. 



“It was amazing,” Mastro exclaimed. 



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/greenland-ice-core_soil-sample_fossils_recently-melted-ice_credit-UVermont_1m.jpg"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/greenland-ice-core_soil-sample_fossils_recently-melted-ice_credit-UVermont_1s.webp" alt="Willow bud scale, arctic poppy seed, fungal bodies, and rock spikemoss megaspores found in the GISP2 soil sample viewed under a microscope at the University of Vermont. Click image to enlarge. Credit: Halley Mastro/University of Vermont" class="wp-image-1977508"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Willow bud scale, arctic poppy seed, fungal bodies, and rock spikemoss megaspores found in the GISP2 soil sample viewed under a microscope at the University of Vermont. Click image to enlarge. Click image to enlarge. Credit: Halley Mastro/University of Vermont</figcaption></figure>



Mastro and colleagues picked out spores of spike‑moss, the bud scale of a young willow, and the compound eye of an insect - life‑forms adapted to chilly air and long summer daylight.



“And then we found Arctic poppy - just one seed of it. That is a tiny flower that's really good at adapting to the cold. It lets us know that Greenland's ice melted and there was soil, because poppies don't grow on top of miles of ice,”&nbsp;Mastro continued.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-sea-level-risks-for-global-coasts">Sea‑level risks for global coasts</h2>



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fossil-corals-reveal-that-sea-level-rise-occurs-in-rapid-bursts/">Sea level today</a> is rising more than an inch each decade. “And it's getting faster and faster,” said Bierman. The extra water comes from a warming ocean that expands as well as from melting glaciers worldwide.



Near‑complete melting of Greenland’s ice over the next centuries to a few millennia would lead to some&nbsp;23&nbsp;feet of sea‑level rise. 



“Look at Boston, New&nbsp;York, Miami, Mumbai, or any other coastal city around the world, and add&nbsp;20‑plus feet of sea level. It goes underwater. Don't buy a beach house," Bierman advised.



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-much-did-sea-levels-rise-after-the-last-ice-age-alarming-new-clues-revealed/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Sea level</a> is likely to be several feet higher by the end of this century, when today’s children are grandparents.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-greenland-s-fragile-ice-fortress">Greenland's fragile ice fortress</h2>



Richard Alley, a leading climate scientist at <a href="https://www.psu.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Penn State University</a>, reviewed the new research.



“This new study confirms, and expands upon earlier evidence, that significant sea‑level rise occurred at a time when the causes of warming were not especially extreme, providing a warning of the damage we might cause if we continue to warm the climate," Alley noted.



“We now have direct evidence that not only was the ice gone, but that plants and insects were living there,” Bierman concluded. “And that's unassailable. You don't have to rely on calculations or models.” 



The fossil soil at Greenland’s summit, locked beneath nearly two miles of ice, speaks plainly: polar ice sheets can retreat far and fast when the climate tips, and the coastlines of the future will trace that story in real time. 



Whether that warning is heeded remains a decision for policy makers and citizens alike.



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2407465121#supplementary-materials" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>.



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Greenland ice discovery stuns and worries scientists: "Don't buy a beach house"

Greenland’s ice-covered landscape looks like an immovable block on satellite...

Seeds provide most of the calories humanity eats, yet the cells that decide how big each seed becomes have remained a mystery. Now, however, a new study from <a href="https://en.nagoya-u.ac.jp/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nagoya University</a> has revealed a hidden gateway inside those cells that can push seed size up by 16 percent. 



The <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822%2825%2900345-8" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">work</a>, led by <a href="https://www.itbm.nagoya-u.ac.jp/en_backup/members/r-kasahara/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ryushiro Kasahara</a> and <a href="https://bbc.agr.nagoya-u.ac.jp/~graft/member2.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Michitaka Nodaguchi</a>, maps the first new plant tissue described in 160 years. Kasahara is a plant biologist at Nagoya University’s Institute of Transformative Bio‑Molecules.



“Nobody was looking where I was looking,” said Kasahara, the scientist who first noticed a strange fluorescent ring on the wrong side of the ovule while tracking callose stains. Callose, a mesh of glucose chains, blocks the gateway whenever an ovule misses fertilization.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-stain-that-changed-course">A stain that changed course</h2>



Kasahara’s observation came while he was simply verifying previous work on <a href="https://gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org/species/arabidopsis/thaliana/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Arabidopsis thaliana</a>. The unexpected ring turned out to be the entrance to the nutrient highway that runs from mother plant to seed.



The ring forms at the base of the hypocotyl, the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/hemp-seeds-could-be-a-game-changer-as-an-alternative-protein-source/">seed</a>’s embryonic stem, and it looks like a crouching rabbit under the microscope. 



Its shape gave the researchers an easy visual cue to follow as they charted the structure’s life cycle from closed to open state.



Historic plant anatomists cataloged most tissues by 1860, yet this ring escaped notice because it lies opposite the pollen entry point. 



That oversight highlights how much biology can still hide in plain sight when everyone points their lens in the same direction.



Because the ring fluoresces only when stained for callose, it took a dye meant for another purpose to bring the gateway to light. 



Chance favored the trained eye that chose to look where textbooks said nothing interesting should be happening.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-plant-seeds-and-the-kasahara-gateway">Plant seeds and the Kasahara gateway</h2>



The gateway sits at the chalazal end of the ovule, exactly where maternal phloem strands terminate. Genetic scans showed that a single gene, <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17270015/">β-1, 3‑glucanase AtBG_ppap</a>, spikes in activity right after successful fertilization and digests the callose plug.



Central-cell fertilization, which seeds the endosperm, is the real trigger. When only the egg cell fuses, the gate stays closed; when the central cell fuses, the callose melts within a day and sugar rushes in.



The enzyme works like molecular scissors, shaving away callose strands to create a doughnut‑shaped aperture less than one-thousandth of an inch across. 



Once open, that aperture stays clear for the entire <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/amaranth-seeds-rich-in-calcium-and-iron-prevents-tumors-and-keeps-bones-strong/">seed</a>‑filling period unless new callose is laid down in response to stress.



Because the gateway is made of living cells rather than <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9394918/">lignified</a> walls, the plant can rebuild the plug if conditions warrant. Such reversibility suggests a broader role in resource triage during drought or pathogen attack.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-boosting-plant-seed-growth">Boosting plant seed growth</h2>



Opening the gate has immediate effects on sugar flow. Live‑cell imaging with fluorescent tracers <a href="https://keio.elsevierpure.com/ja/publications/fertilization-dependent-phloem-end-gate-regulates-seed-size">showed</a> sucrose streaking into fertilized ovules but stopping dead at the plug in unfertilized ones.



When researchers crossed overexpression lines with fertilization‑defective pollen, the seeds still grew larger than controls, proving that keeping the gate open can bypass normal fertility signals. 



That result hints at a new route to bigger grains that does not tamper with hormone pathways or embryo genetics.



Previous yield‑boosting tricks often revolved around delaying flowering or altering hormone balances, strategies that can backfire under field stress. 



By contrast, controlling a gateway that governs the final delivery of nutrients lets breeders stack gains on top of existing varieties without lengthening the growing season.



The strategy also behaves additively with other nutrient transport genes. Plants missing the amino acid transporter <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/284717967_Amino_Acid_Export_in_Developing_Arabidopsis_Seeds_Depends_on_UmamiT_Facilitators">UmamiT</a> produce seeds twelve  percent smaller, underscoring how critical maternal supply lines are to final weight.&nbsp;



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



By 2050 the world will need roughly 50 percent more plant‑based food to feed almost 10 billion people. Traditional breeding has already squeezed much of the easy gain out of photosynthesis and field management.



A single-gene edit that enlarges seeds by a tenth could reclaim tonnes of grain per acre without additional fertilizer or water. 



Early greenhouse trials in rice suggest the boost holds across diverse backgrounds, though large‑scale field tests are still pending.



Commercial deployment would involve editing native <a href="https://www.genomicseducation.hee.nhs.uk/documents/polymerase-proofreading-associated-polyposis/">PPAP genes</a> rather than importing foreign DNA, a distinction that could ease regulatory hurdles in markets that accept CRISPR crops. 



Seed companies are already screening elite wheat lines for gateway variants that naturally leak more nutrients.



Because the mechanism is conserved across angiosperms, it could be used in maize, sunflower, and many fruit crops without wholesale redesign of their genomes. 



The approach also promises benefits in orphan crops such as teff, where modest increases in kernel size translate directly into less labor for threshing.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-callose-seeds-and-the-big-picture">Callose, seeds and the big picture</h2>



The gateway also explains an evolutionary puzzle: flowering plants dominate today’s flora partly because they avoid wasting energy on unfertilized ovules. 



By blocking <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/seeds-rich-in-protein-and-magnesium-help-grow-muscle-mass-fenugreek/">nutrient flow</a> until the central cell confirms fertilization, the gateway lets the plant invest only in seeds that can finish the job.



Researchers now want to follow the signal upstream to learn how the endosperm tells the gateway to open. They also hope to explore whether similar callose plugs direct nutrient traffic in other plant organs, as callose is known to regulate plasmodesmata permeability throughout the plant body.&nbsp;



Future projects aim to map the three‑dimensional structure of <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.07.23.550179v1.full.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">AtBG_ppap</a> to design small molecules that might modulate its activity in the field. 



Others plan to combine always‑open gateways with carbon‑fixing traits to see whether the plant can keep pace with the heightened demand.



The discovery also invites work on reversible gating to guard against pathogens that hijack sugar streams. If researchers can toggle the plug in response to infection, crops might starve out invading microbes without chemical sprays.



The study is published in <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960982225003458" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Current Biology</a>.



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New plant tissue discovered that increases seed size by up to 16%

Seeds provide most of the calories humanity eats, yet the...

Planting trees is a simple idea, yet the details - from which species are used to how they’re arranged within a forest - shape the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-will-devastate-global-food-production/">climate</a> benefits we reap. 



Advanced computer models make it possible for scientists to peer inside virtual forests. They can test every possible arrangement before a single sapling goes into the ground.



A new <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-61389-7">study</a> used those models to show that layout matters almost as much as species choice. The research was led by Rémy Beugnon at the <a href="https://www.idiv.de/">German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv)</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-mixing-trees-boosts-growth">Mixing trees boosts growth</h2>



Researchers call the fine‑grained mix of species in a stand <a href="https://taylorandfrancis.com/knowledge/Engineering_and_technology/Engineering_support_and_special_topics/Spatial_heterogeneity/">spatial heterogeneity</a>. When that mix is high, neighboring trees draw different nutrients, share light, and leave a patchwork of leaf litter that fuels underground life.



Beugnon’s team modeled eight subtropical species in thousands of simulated plots and compared designs ranging from single‑species blocks to fully shuffled grids. 



The models predicted that random layouts move <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/excess-nutrients-are-creating-ocean-dead-zones/">nutrients</a> faster through the system, lifting both growth and recycling.



“The models show that random planting designs increased tree biomass by 11 percent compared to clustered layouts,” said Rémy Beugnon, first author of the study.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-random-forest-designs-pay-off">Random forest designs pay off</h2>



Across the forest simulations, shuffling species raised aboveground biomass by 11 percent over block plantings, even though every plot carried the same number of stems. 



The extra wood comes from chance neighbors; tall shade‑tolerant trunks share space with shorter sun‑lovers, wasting less light and soil.



A 2023 global <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adi2362">analysis</a> of more than 10,000 plots found a similar pattern, reporting that each additional tree species added roughly one‑third of a ton of extra wood per acre by boosting canopy complexity.



For managers locked into mechanical harvesting, random layouts can be intimidating. Yet the payoff shows why many reforestation guides now favor flexible rows or small patches over the classic monoculture block.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-mixed-trees-enrich-soil">Mixed trees enrich soil</h2>



Dead leaves are not waste; they drive litter decomposition that returns nitrogen and carbon to roots. In the models, mixed canopies dropped litter more evenly across the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dead-trees-in-forest-streams-hold-more-carbon-than-expected/">forest floor</a>, smoothing out nutrient hot and cold spots.



Carbon loss from litter after nine months climbed from 36.5 percent in block plantings to 47.1 percent in random mixes, a jump big enough to shift the soil’s entire carbon budget.



Field experiments in subtropical China showed that doubling tree species richness sped up decomposition by up to 25 percent through thicker, more varied leaf fall. 



Faster turnover does not mean carbon is lost. Instead, it channels organic matter into microbial pathways that lock it deeper in the soil profile.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-tidy-path-to-forest-diversity">A tidy path to forest diversity</h2>



The Leipzig group tested a middle ground called “line planting,” alternating single or double rows of different species. Lines keep machinery lanes clear while still mixing neighbors along their edges. 



Their simulations showed that line layouts decomposed 40.4 percent of litter carbon in nine months -halfway between blocks and fully random, yet easy to mark out with a tape measure.



“We can leverage biodiversity in forests if we arrange it in the right way,” said Nico Eisenhauer, professor at <a href="https://www.uni-leipzig.de/">Leipzig University</a> and iDiv group leader.



For many operational foresters, that design tweak may be the cheapest route to healthier soils - without rewriting the entire planting manual.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-planting-diversity-fuels-forest-gains">Planting diversity fuels forest gains</h2>



Layout is only half of the equation; adding species amplifies its effect. In mixed stands, each extra species multiplied the layout benefit, but in block designs the diversity effect nearly vanished. 



When eight species were scattered randomly, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/balancing-act-microbes-speed-up-plant-decomposition-in-a-warming-world/">decomposition</a> leapt by more than ten percentage points compared with similar blocks. In contrast, two‑species plots barely budged.



A pan‑American census reported that forests holding a wider spread of life‑history strategies stored more carbon over time, even after accounting for climate. Thus, thinking in two dimensions - what trees and where - can stretch every acre planted toward national carbon targets.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-climate-goals-need-forest-designs">Climate goals need forest designs</h2>



Beugnon and colleagues plan long‑term field tests to see how windthrow, pests, and thinning interact with mixed layouts over decades. 



Policymakers drafting <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/planting-trees-is-important-but-reforestation-can-help-too/">reforestation</a> incentives could build spatial criteria into grant rules, rewarding forest designs that mix species at the row scale rather than the stand scale.



With roughly 470 million acres already pledged for restoration worldwide, even a 10 percent biomass lift adds up. That increase translates into gigatons of extra carbon locked away.



Choosing the right forest design from the start costs nothing yet pays dividends for centuries, making it one of the simplest levers in the climate toolkit.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-61389-7">Nature Communications</a>.



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Smarter forest design can help fight climate change

Planting trees is a simple idea, yet the details -...

'Zombie' fungi that hijack insects are not just a modern forest horror story. A pair of tiny fossils locked in Burmese amber shows that these parasites stalked ants and flies nearly 100 million years ago in what is now Myanmar.



The newly described fungi, Paleoophiocordyceps gerontoformicae and Paleoophiocordyceps ironomyiae, sprouted from their long‑dead hosts, just like today’s entomopathogenic relatives. This gruesome strategy has clearly been in play since ancient times. 



Study co‑author <a href="https://www.biotaxa.org/pe/article/view/palaeoentomology.5.3.1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Professor Edmund Jarzembowski</a> of the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology (<a href="http://english.nigpas.cas.cn/">NIGPAS</a>) and London’s <a href="https://www.nhm.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Natural History Museum</a> helped craft the formal description.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ancient-outbreak-of-parasitic-fungi">Ancient outbreak of parasitic fungi</h2>



Amber from the Hukawng Valley captures an ant pupa with a slender fungal stalk, and a fly pierced by a second projectile‑like stroma. 



The position of each growth mirrors the way that modern zombie fungi erupt from soft joints after the host’s last breath.



Palaeontologists reconstructed the scene and noted that the ant appears to have been dragged away from the nest before the infection reached its spore‑spraying stage. Social insects often quarantine sick kin, a behaviour already in place during the <a href="https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/the-cretaceous-period.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Cretaceous</a>.



“It’s fascinating to see some of the strangeness of the natural world that we see today was also present at the height of the age of the dinosaurs,” said Jarzembowski, reflecting on the familiar menace that infected the ancient insects.



The research team counted flask‑shaped perithecia, the microscopic chambers where sexual spores mature, on the fossilized stalks. 



Their arrangement ties the ancient genus to living Ophiocordyceps, even though the lineage split more than 130 million years ago.



Very few fossil pathogens display intact reproductive parts. This makes every new specimen a potential window into deep‑time disease ecology. 



The rarity arises because fungi are soft and because an insect corpse rarely fossilizes side by side with its killer, scientists noted.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-makes-a-fungus-a-zombie">What makes a fungus a zombie</h2>



Members of <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plospathogens/article?id=10.1371/journal.ppat.1005037" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ophiocordyceps</a> start with a pin‑sized spore that germinates. It drills through the exoskeleton of a living insect, and sets up shop in the haemolymph. 



Chemical signals then steer the victim to a perch that maximizes wind exposure for the dispersal of spores released after death.



A genome survey of ant‑infecting species uncovered dozens of genes that code for enterotoxin‑like proteins. This suggests that the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/deadly-fungus-aspergillus-that-can-eat-you-from-the-inside-out-is-quietly-spreading-around-the-world/">fungus</a> rewires muscles and nerves using the same tricks that bacteria use to upset mammalian guts.



Transcript <a href="https://www.nature.com/scitable/blog/accumulating-glitches/how_fungus_makes_ant_zombies/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">studies</a> show that as the infection peaks, genes tied to serotonin and dopamine pathways in the ant surge or plunge, matching the precise timing of the so‑called death grip.



Today more than 1,500 insect‑killing <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthpedia-articles/understanding-fungi-characteristics-and-function/">fungi</a> are catalogued, yet only a handful make headlines. Specialists target beetles that bore into crops or mosquitoes that spread malaria, demonstrating the ecological punch of these microbes, even outside tropical forests.



Their life cycle is a masterclass in recycling nutrients: the mycelium consumes host tissues from within, then the emergent stalk spreads fresh <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/biodegradable-living-plastic-contains-bacterial-spores-that-break-it-down/">spores</a> that restore carbon and nitrogen to soil food webs.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-amber-as-nature-s-time-capsule">Amber as nature's time capsule</h2>



Tree resin entombs soft bodies in minutes and hardens into amber that resists water, oxygen, and microbial decay. 



That airtight seal lets researchers inspect insect cuticles along with fungal filaments that are thinner than a human hair.



Kachin amber is celebrated for its clarity, but the deposit also raises ethical concerns because mining revenues can fund armed conflict. International guidelines now press museums to verify provenance before accepting new pieces.



Gem cutters often discard cloudy chunks, yet those fragments may shelter the best biological inclusions. Researchers therefore sift mine tailings for overlooked specimens, rather than fueling fresh extraction.



Because resin flows layer over layer, a single piece can trap snapshots separated by hours. That layering helps date biological events with unusual precision when volcanic ash beds bracket the deposit.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-fungi-give-clues-to-insect-evolution">Fungi give clues to insect evolution</h2>



Comparative anatomy and molecular clocks place Paleoophiocordyceps on a branch that diverged from the modern zombie‑ant fungus during the <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/392592127_Cretaceous_entomopathogenic_fungi_illuminate_the_early_evolution_of_insect-fungal_associations" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Early Cretaceous</a>. this was at the time that flowering plants began reshaping terrestrial food webs.



The study’s host‑switch analysis flagged a likely jump from beetles to flies and ants, mirroring the radiation of pollinators and social insects. Such leaps underline how a parasite’s fate is tied to the fortunes of its preferred prey.



Beetles already thrived in decaying wood, an environment humid enough for fungal spores, while the rise of canopy flowers led <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/swarm-intelligence-ants-can-anticipate-obstacles-and-plan-ahead/">ants</a> to exploit new niches. The fungus followed its insect food, so to speak, adapting its toolkit for each cuticular landscape.



Host regulation may have checked insect booms long before birds or bats evolved sophisticated appetites for six‑legged prey. 



That invisible policing force could explain relatively stable herbivore damage in Cretaceous leaf fossils, despite soaring insect diversity.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-tale-familiar-to-modern-forests">A tale familiar to modern forests</h2>



Field surveys in Thailand show that fungus-infected ant graveyards form in patches where humidity hovers near 95 percent, suggesting the parasite needs microclimates as well as hosts.



Timing is equally precise. Infected carpenter ants bite down at solar noon more often than chance predicts, hinting that fungal circadian genes sync with the host’s biological clock.



When <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0004835" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">cadavers</a> pile up, each fungal stalk releases millions of spores, yet infections remain patchy. Colony grooming, corpse removal, and antimicrobial secretions keep outbreaks from wiping out entire nests.



Lab trials with generalist insect fungi show a trade‑off between killing speed and spore burden, meaning parasites that act too quickly may sacrifice dispersal success.



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



Entomologists already deploy fungal <a href="https://www.epa.gov/ingredients-used-pesticide-products/what-are-biopesticides" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">bio‑pesticides</a> against insects such as locusts and crop‑boring moths. 



This method of control targets the insects without drenching fields in chemicals. Lessons from ancient lineages could sharpen that strategy by revealing how host jumps evolve.



Climate models predict that warmer nights and shifting rainfall will widen the habitat for many fungal pathogens. 



Tracking their evolutionary playbook helps forecast which <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/insect-populations-dramatically-declining-around-the-world-rising-temperatures/">insect</a> groups, helpful or harmful, might feel the heat next.



The fossils nevertheless remind us that even tiny microbes leave fingerprints on evolution, shaping who thrives and who fails. 



The study is published in <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/abs/10.1098/rspb.2025.0407" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences</a>.



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'Zombie' fungus that lived almost 100 million years ago found preserved in amber

'Zombie' fungi that hijack insects are not just a modern...

Soybean,Grain,In,A,Hands,Of,Successful,Farmer,,In,A

Many countries already add lanthanides, a group of rare earth metals, to fertilizers to support crop growth. Yet despite their widespread agricultural use, researchers still didn’t fully understand how plants absorb these elements or how they influence essential processes like photosynthesis.



But recent research offers new insight into how these elements operate inside plants - and how they might be used more efficiently.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-rare-earth-metals-in-farming">Rare earth metals in farming</h2>



Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (<a href="https://www.mit.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">MIT</a>) have found that a single nanoscale dose of lanthanides applied to seeds can help some of the world’s most widely grown crops resist damage from ultraviolet (UV) light.



Their work shows that these rare earth metals can interact with <a href="https://www.nature.com/scitable/topicpage/photosynthetic-cells-14025371/">chlorophyll</a> - the pigment that powers photosynthesis - by replacing the magnesium at its center. This replacement strengthens the pigment and improves the plant’s response to UV stress.



“This is a first step to better understand how these elements work in plants, and to provide an example of how they could be better delivered to plants, compared to simply applying them in the soil,” said Associate Professor Benedetto Marelli, who conducted the study with postdoc Giorgio Rizzo. 



“This is the first example of a thorough study showing the effects of lanthanides on chlorophyll, and their beneficial effects to protect plants from UV stress.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-metals-do-more-than-grow-food">Metals do more than grow food</h2>



Lanthanides aren’t just for <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/farmers-adopt-regenerative-agriculture-better-soil-health/">agriculture</a>. They’re also used in a variety of industrial and medical applications, from contrast agents in <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16729149/">MRI scans</a> to components in solar cells, lasers, and LED lights.



The rare earth metals now play a much larger role in crop production. In <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12109484/">China</a> especially, farmers apply lanthanide-enriched <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fertilizer-reduces-plant-damage-caused-by-droughts/">fertilizers</a> to nearly 4 million hectares of farmland each year.



“Lanthanides have been considered for a long time to be biologically irrelevant, but that’s changed in agriculture, especially in China,” confirmed Rizzo. 



“But we largely don’t know how lanthanides work to benefit plants - nor do we understand their uptake mechanisms from plant tissues.”



Some recent studies suggest that these elements can promote growth, root development, hormone synthesis, and stress tolerance. However, too much lanthanide can be harmful.



The trick is finding the right balance - and that means understanding how they move through plant tissues and interact with the cells.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-re-greening-crops-with-lanthanides">Re-greening crops with lanthanides</h2>



To explore this, the MIT team used a seed coating and treatment method they had previously developed. This allowed them to study the interaction between chlorophyll and lanthanides both inside and outside the plant.



Chlorophyll is vital to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/plants-cleverly-adapt-their-photosynthesis-to-changes-in-light/">photosynthesis</a>. But when the pigment loses the magnesium ion at its core, it can no longer absorb light efficiently.



The researchers discovered that certain lanthanides can take the place of magnesium. This substitution helps chlorophyll regain some of its functional ability - a process called “re-greening.”



“We found that lanthanides can boost several parameters of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/new-sensor-remotely-tracks-plant-health-in-real-time/">plant health</a>,” Marelli said. “They mostly accumulate in the roots, but a small amount also makes its way to the leaves, and some of the new chlorophyll molecules made in leaves have lanthanides incorporated in their structure.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-metal-offers-sun-defense-for-crops">Metal offers sun defense for crops</h2>



The team also discovered something surprising: lanthanides increased the plants’ ability to withstand UV stress - something no one had anticipated.



“Chlorophylls are very sensitive pigments,” Rizzo explained. “They can convert light to energy in plants, but when they are isolated from the cell structure, they rapidly hydrolyze and degrade."



"However, in the form with lanthanides at their center, they are pretty stable, even after extracting them from plant cells.”



Using advanced spectroscopic tools, the researchers tested their findings on several staple crops - including chickpea, barley, corn, and soybeans. The benefits held across all of them.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-lanthanides-could-protect-food-security">Lanthanides could protect food security</h2>



With extreme heat and more frequent climate events threatening global food systems, solutions like this could become increasingly important.



“As we move into an environment where extreme heat and extreme climate events are more common, and particularly where we can have prolonged periods of sun in the field, we want to provide new ways to protect our plants,” Marelli said. 



“There are existing agrochemicals that can be applied to leaves for protecting plants from stressors such as UV, but they can be toxic, increase microplastics, and require multiple applications. This could be a complementary way to protect plants from UV stress,” he said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cheap-lanthanides-shows-big-potential">Cheap lanthanides shows big potential</h2>



Among the lanthanides studied, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/materials-science/lanthanum" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">lanthanum</a> - a relatively large and low-cost element - stood out for its effectiveness in strengthening chlorophyll.



Mining operations typically view lanthanum as a low-value byproduct of extracting rare earth elements. But this new use could turn that status around.



“This study shows what we could do with these lower-value metals,” Marelli said. “We know lanthanides are extremely useful in electronics, magnets, and energy."



"In the U.S., there’s a big push to recycle them. That’s why for the plant studies, we focused on lanthanum, being the most abundant, cheapest lanthanide ion.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-next-stop-greenhouses-and-beyond">Next stop: greenhouses and beyond</h2>



The team isn’t stopping with plants. They also plan to look into how lanthanides interact with other biological molecules, including proteins in the human body.



On the agricultural side, their next step is to test their findings in greenhouses and experimental farm settings, scaling up their work and exploring how different crops respond to metal-based<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/uv-radiation-played-a-role-in-earths-largest-mass-extinction/"> UV</a> protection.



“Lanthanides are already widely used in agriculture,” Rizzo said. “We hope this study provides evidence that allows more conscious use of them and also a new way to apply them through seed treatments.”



The full study was published in the <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/jacs.5c07071" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Journal of the American Chemical Society</a>.



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This cheap metal could be the key to growing stronger and healthier crops

Many countries already add lanthanides, a group of rare earth...

Rainforests thrive on delicate relationships. Plants, animals, and insects like ants constantly interact, creating a web of survival and competition. Amid this chaos, unexpected harmony sometimes blooms.



In the tropical rainforests of Fiji, scientists uncovered a fascinating story of peacekeeping. It is not a tale of advanced creatures or complex brains. Instead, it centers around a plant with an unusual design. 



This plant has developed a surprisingly simple strategy to solve conflict among aggressive ants.



This discovery from <a href="https://www.durham.ac.uk" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Durham University</a> reshapes our understanding of cooperation in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-future-climate-conditions-will-transform-plant-growth/">nature</a>. It shows how something as basic as plant architecture can manage aggression and encourage mutual support. 



The study reveals that, sometimes, structure itself can shape behavior and nurture harmony among rivals.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ants-and-plants-team-up">Ants and plants team up</h2>



The plant at the center of this story belongs to the genus Squamellaria. It is part of the Rubiaceae family, also known as the coffee family. These plants grow on the branches and trunks of rainforest trees.



The plants form large, bulbous structures called domatia. These domatia are not just growths - they serve as homes for ants. In return for shelter, ants provide the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-finally-learn-what-makes-plants-roots-grow-faster-and-stronger-autophagy/">plant</a> with essential nutrients from their waste.



However, the ants that live in these plants are not naturally friendly neighbors. Many of them are highly aggressive and often engage in violent fights with other species. 



This raises an important question: how can so many aggressive species coexist peacefully inside a single plant?



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-walls-keep-rivals-apart">Walls keep rivals apart</h2>



The answer lies in the design of Squamellaria’s domatia. Professor Guillaume Chomicki of Durham University led an international team to investigate the mystery. 



Using high-resolution 3D CT scans, the researchers explored the inner structure of the plant’s domatia. What they found was remarkable. The plant creates domatia with multiple chambers, each completely sealed off from the others inside.



Every chamber has its own entrance, but inside, walls separate them from their neighbors. This design prevents physical contact between ant <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/plant-roots-could-be-key-to-fighting-climate-change/">species</a>. It is as if the plant built a miniature apartment complex, with each species living in its own secure unit.



This clever separation prevents fights and keeps the peace within the plant. It is not a chemical trick or behavioral adaptation by the ants. The plant’s architecture itself enforces harmony.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-one-plant-many-ants">One plant, many ants</h2>



To test the effectiveness of this system, the researchers conducted extensive fieldwork. They observed Squamellaria plants on three Fijian islands for over a decade.



The team's observations revealed that a single Squamellaria <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/plants-could-soon-talk-to-farmers-and-listen-too/">plant</a> could house as many as five different ant species simultaneously. Despite their natural tendency to fight, the ants coexisted peacefully.



The researchers also performed nutrient labeling experiments using nitrogen isotopes. These experiments confirmed that all of the ant species provided valuable nutrients to the plant. 



Each ant colony contributed to the plant’s well-being, making the relationship mutually beneficial for all involved.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-when-peace-breaks-down">When peace breaks down</h2>



To truly understand the importance of separation, the researchers conducted a bold experiment. They surgically removed the internal walls between the chambers of the domatia.



The results were immediate and violent. Ant species that had previously lived peacefully erupted into fierce battles. These fights led to many ant deaths on both sides.



In contrast, plants with intact chambers saw no such conflict. Even outside the plant, ants shared food sources without issue. This highlights the importance of physical separation inside the plant.



“It is incredible how such an odd group of organisms, restricted to a couple of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/nasa-warning-sea-level-rise-in-pacific-island-nations-is-irreversible/">Fijian islands</a>, can provide general insights into the stability of cooperation between species,” noted Professor Chomicki.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-plant-that-solves-conflicts">A plant that solves conflicts</h2>



The team also created mathematical models to further explore the plant’s strategy. The models confirmed that compartmentalization helps maintain long-term partnerships. 



The system prevents fights during the early stages of colony establishment. This allows each chamber to develop into a stable, nutrient-contributing <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/just-a-few-ants-can-change-an-entire-colonys-social-structure/">colony</a>.



Even in situations where only a small fraction of arriving ants were aggressive, the models showed that compartmentalized domatia performed better than single-chambered ones.



This shows that separating rivals is not just a short-term solution. It has lasting benefits for both the plant and its ant residents. The architecture ensures that mutualism remains stable over time, providing security and resources for all involved.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-hidden-harmony-in-nature">Hidden harmony in nature</h2>



This discovery helps solve a long-standing mystery in ecology. Scientists have wondered how unrelated and sometimes hostile species manage to maintain cooperation.



The findings suggest that physical separation could be a widely used strategy in nature. Many organisms may rely on similar methods to prevent conflict and maintain beneficial relationships.



The study of Squamellaria shows that architecture alone can shape ecosystems. It highlights the hidden power of structural design in keeping peace among species that would otherwise be at odds.



In the rainforests of Fiji, a simple plant demonstrates that sometimes, the best way to manage conflict is to keep your neighbors at a safe distance.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adu8429" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Science</a>.



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Some plants have a strategy to prevent violent ant fights

Rainforests thrive on delicate relationships. Plants, animals, and insects like...

<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...

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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Wildlife tunnels save millions of amphibians

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

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



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



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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

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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...

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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

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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

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

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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

Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

[sendtonews key="JbW4VsY53O-1632195-12187" type="single"] Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected...

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