As night falls in the rainforests, orangutans climb into the canopy to construct intricate tree nests, displaying remarkable ingenuity. 



These comfy platforms are carefully engineered beds, providing warmth, comfort, protection from predators, and even reduce mosquito bites.



Scientists have long wondered how young orangutans learn to master such complex architecture. Recent findings reveal that they acquire this skill through close observation and practice, a process called observational <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/chimpanzees-and-bees-are-capable-of-complex-social-learning/">social learning</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-orangutans-build-nests-for-survival">Orangutans build nests for survival</h2>



Nest-building is essential for survival. Unlike many behaviors in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/what-orangutans-can-teach-humans-about-food-and-fitness/">animals</a>, this skill is neither entirely instinctive nor quickly learned. 



Orangutans must manipulate branches, twigs, and leaves with strength and dexterity while making decisions about materials and structure.



Night nests, far more elaborate than day nests, can include linings, pillows, blankets, and even roofs. 



To build such structures requires both technical know-how and material knowledge, making nest-building a cognitively demanding task.



Young <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/orangutan-mothers-have-unique-parenting-styles-like-humans/">orangutans</a> begin showing interest in nests at just six months, playing with leaves and branches. 



Practice of basic day nests starts around age one, but night nest practice begins only at three years and is not mastered until about the age of eight.



Complex additions, such as multitree nests and comfort elements, appear later. This long timeline shows that the skill is not acquired quickly but gradually, with repeated attempts and guided observation.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-learning-from-mom">Learning from mom</h2>



Researchers documented that immatures who carefully peered at their mothers during nest-building were far more likely to practice soon afterward. 



Merely being nearby without watching closely did not have the same effect. This highlights the importance of selective attention in learning.



“Nest-building is critical to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/experts-unlock-the-mysteries-of-orangutan-communication/">survival</a> in orangutans but is surprisingly not the focus of a lot of research," noted Dr. Ani Permana from the <a href="https://warwick.ac.uk" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Warwick</a>. 



"We previously reported that it takes multiple years for immature orangutans to learn to nest-build but, based on 17 years of observational data, this paper shows that this learning process is highly dependent on young animals carefully watching the nest-building of others.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-orangutan-nests-are-complex">Orangutan nests are complex</h2>



The study also showed that young orangutans pay special attention to complex features like multitree nests, twig manipulations, and comfort elements. 



These require memorizing multiple steps and sequences. After observing these, immatures increased their practice, suggesting they were specifically learning the more challenging parts. 



Simpler nests, such as single-tree day nests, did not trigger the same level of focused observation.



“Orangutan nest-building tendency may have some innate basis, but the details and method must be socially learned, starting from a very young age, by watching and practicing, learning from mistakes as they grow and this paper is the first time this has been shown in wild apes,” Dr. Permana added.



At first, immatures mostly learn from their mothers, but as they grow older, they begin peering at other group members, thereby expanding their knowledge base.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-learning-what-to-use">Learning what to use</h2>



Beyond construction skills, orangutans also learn what materials to use. 



“Aside from learning ‘how to’ build a nest, immature orangutans also appear to learn the ‘know-what’ of which materials to use," noted Dr. Caroline Schuppli, <a href="https://www.ab.mpg.de/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior</a>.



The choice of tree species is important, and infants - who primarily peer at their mothers - are more likely to select the same species their mothers use.



“Just like human teenagers finding their own path, maturing orangutans increasingly peer at the nest-building of others and begin experimenting with the tree species those individuals use," Dr. Schuppli continued.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-returning-to-roots">Returning to roots</h2>



Interestingly, adults often revert to using the tree species favored by their mothers, even after experimenting with alternatives in youth.



“Ultimately, adult orangutans tend to revert to the nest materials used by their mothers, perhaps recognizing that the most effective methods had already been established," Dr. Schuppli noted. 



"This consistent variation in nest materials across generations indicates that wild orangutan populations possess cultural elements that could be lost without the conservation of the species and their habitats,” 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-orangutans-learn-and-pass-on-traditions">Orangutans learn and pass on traditions</h2>



The study emphasized four main points: peering, not just proximity, drives learning; immatures focus on complex multi-step elements; role models expand with age; and knowledge of tree species is socially transmitted.



These findings suggest orangutans display cultural variation, with nest-building traditions passed through generations.



<a href="https://academic.oup.com/book/32658/chapter-abstract/270606055?redirectedFrom=fulltext&amp;login=false" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nest-building</a> is an evolutionarily ancient behavior shared by great apes. 



By proving that orangutans acquire this skill through observational social learning, the study suggests that such cultural learning has deep roots in primate history.



It highlights not just the intelligence of orangutans but also their fragile cultural heritage - one that can only continue if their forest homes are preserved.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s42003-025-08217-2" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Communications Biology</a>.



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Orangutans learn to build complex tree nests by watching their mothers

As night falls in the rainforests, orangutans climb into the canopy to construct intricate tree nests, displaying remarkable ingenuity. These comfy platforms are carefully engineered beds, providing warmth, comfort, protection from predators, and even reduce mosquito bites. Scientists have long wondered how young orangutans learn to master such complex architecture. Recent findings reveal that they acquire this skill through close observation and practice, a process called observational social learning. Orangutans build nests for survival Nest-building is essential for survival. Unlike many behaviors in animals, this skill is...

On the surface, the 106,000-acre Avon Park Air Force Range in central Florida seems an unlikely refuge for endangered wildlife, including woodpeckers. The U.S. Air Force uses the property for bombing practice, artillery training, and low-level flight runs.



Yet tucked between target zones and drop sites lies one of the largest remaining swaths of longleaf pine savanna in the state - a habitat that now shelters more than forty at-risk species.



Thanks to an unusual partnership among the military, federal biologists, and academic researchers, this living laboratory has just yielded some of the clearest evidence yet that carefully planned animal “translocations” can pull struggling populations back from the brink.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-moving-endangered-woodpeckers">Moving endangered woodpeckers</h2>



A team led by <a href="https://msu.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Michigan State University</a> (MSU) conservation biologists reported that moving endangered red-cockaded woodpeckers from healthier forests into Avon Park did far more than provide a short-term boost. 



Over two decades, newcomers and their offspring boosted numbers, improved genetics, and outperformed locals in nesting and survival.



This is a rare success story scientists seldom get to document in such detail. MSU graduate student Alex Lewanski, the paper’s first author, spent years analyzing banding records, nesting logs, and genetic samples collected since 1998.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-need-for-a-genetic-rescue"><a></a>The need for a genetic rescue</h2>



Once common from Texas to the Carolinas, red-cockaded woodpeckers depend on mature longleaf pines peppered with natural cavities.



Logging, fire suppression, and development have reduced the bird’s range to just three percent of its original habitat. Small, isolated colonies face a double threat: fewer mates and the gradual erosion of genetic diversity needed to adapt.



Avon Park’s savannas - more than 35,000 acres of open <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/what-gives-pine-trees-fresh-scent/">pine</a> and wiregrass - offered prime real estate, but only a tiny remnant population of endangered woodpeckers survived there in the 1990s.



Beginning in 1998, field crews from nearby <a href="https://www.archbold-station.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Archbold Biological Station</a>, working with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Air Force land managers, captured juvenile birds in six larger populations. The birds were released, in pairs, into vacant Avon Park territories.



By 2016, the team had translocated 54 individuals - each fitted with color leg bands for lifetime tracking.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-watching-the-bird-colony-grow">Watching the bird colony grow</h2>



Because the range is a federally protected “Sentinel Landscape,” researchers could monitor the birds with unusual intensity. They mapped cavity trees, checked nests weekly, and recorded every fledgling’s parents.



Over time, they also collected feathers and genetic material, building pedigrees that now extend across three woodpecker generations.



Lewanski and senior author Sarah Fitzpatrick, an assistant professor at MSU, combined those field notes with the genetic analyses to ask a suite of questions. Did the imported birds survive, pair with locals or other transplants, produce offspring that lived longer or had more young, and how did the influx affect the colony’s overall genetic health?



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-stronger-birds-stronger-colony">Stronger birds, stronger colony</h2>



The answers were striking. Roughly seventy percent of the moved birds survived to breed - remarkable for a species with high juvenile mortality. Many paired with native adults, injecting new genetic combinations into the population.



Translocated birds tended to nest for more years than locally hatched ones, adding measurably to annual fledgling counts. Over 25 years, the Avon Park colony grew steadily, with pedigree data showing a matching decline in inbreeding levels.



“The only reason these populations are still around is because of collaborations and long-term investment in these <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-is-the-largest-threat-to-u-s-endangered-species/">imperiled species</a>,” Lewanski said. He credits coordinated burning programs that restore open pine structure and the military’s commitment to conservation buffers around training zones.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-lessons-for-working-landscapes"><a></a>Lessons for working landscapes</h2>



The findings echo earlier MSU work demonstrating that gene flow - moving individuals or their sperm and eggs between isolated groups - can jump-start recovery in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fish-are-quietly-battling-climate-change-on-the-seabed/">fish</a>, amphibians, and plants. 



In woodpeckers, the benefits are magnified because suitable habitat is so rare and fragmented.



“It has the potential to act as an important component of managing many imperiled species,” Lewanski said. He pointed to Florida scrub jays and gopher tortoises as candidates for relocation into protected military bases or private ranches in federal incentive programs.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-predicting-rescue-with-data">Predicting rescue with data</h2>



Fitzpatrick added that emerging DNA technologies will soon let managers gauge genetic rescue needs without decades of cavity-tree checks. 



Portable sequencers and landscape-scale genome surveys can flag rising inbreeding long before it hurts reproduction, guiding when and where to move birds.



Genomic analysis combined with on-site monitoring could offer tailor-made strategies for managers attempting translocations. It could also help build data dashboards that integrate burn schedules, nest counts, and genetic risk scores.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-blueprint-beyond-the-bombing-range"><a></a>A blueprint beyond the bombing range</h2>



As <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/birds-adapt-their-survival-strategies-to-climate-change/">climate change</a>, urban sprawl and timber markets continue to carve up southeastern pine ecosystems, the Avon Park study offers rare optimism. 



It shows that even tiny remnant populations on “working” lands - not just pristine refuges - can rebound if managers pair habitat stewardship with strategic translocations.



Endangered red-cockaded woodpeckers once filled 90 million acres of longleaf pine with the calls of noisy social clans. Its recovery at a bombing range suggests that, with the right mix of science and partnerships, extinction isn’t inevitable.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2410946122" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>.



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Endangered woodpeckers found an unlikely refuge at a military base

On the surface, the 106,000-acre Avon Park Air Force Range...

In the story of conservation, certain characters steal the spotlight. We celebrate the survival of endangered animals, restore their habitats, and marvel at their recovery.



But hidden beneath these victories is a quieter, almost invisible loss - one that rarely earns public attention or sympathy. This is the story of the kākāpō and the silent extinction of the parasites that once lived alongside it.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-vanishing-kakapo-parasites">Vanishing kākāpō parasites</h2>



Researchers from the University of Adelaide, Manaaki Whenua-Landcare Research, and the <a href="https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Auckland</a> have uncovered a surprising shift in the lives of New Zealand’s kākāpō parrots. Over 80 percent of the parasites found in their droppings before the 1990s have disappeared. 



Using ancient DNA and microscopic analysis, the team studied feces dating back more than 1,500 years. 



The researchers discovered that nine of the 16 <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/common-parasite-may-be-affecting-your-brain-without-symptoms/">parasite</a> types vanished before the 1990s, the same period when the birds began full-population management. Another four species disappeared after this conservation work began.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-parasites-disappear-with-their-hosts">Parasites disappear with their hosts</h2>



"Despite their sometimes negative portrayal, parasites are increasingly appreciated for their ecological importance," said the <a href="https://www.adelaide.edu.au" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Adelaide</a>'s Dr. Jamie Wood. These organisms are among the most successful and widespread lifeforms on Earth.



Parasites are not always harmful invaders. Many play subtle yet vital roles in ecosystems. They help train host immune systems, regulate disease, and sometimes outcompete more dangerous parasites.



Almost every free-living animal harbors parasites, making them one of the most widespread life forms. Yet this close connection creates a risk. 



Parasites depend heavily on specific host <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/parasitic-snails-are-sneaking-inside-sea-cucumbers/">species</a> to survive and reproduce. If the host population declines - due to disease, habitat loss, or conservation interference - the parasites may also disappear.



These losses often go unnoticed, yet they could have lasting effects on host health and ecological balance. When parasites vanish, we may lose not just pests, but essential contributors to the natural world.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-parasites-may-vanish-before-their-hosts">Parasites may vanish before their hosts</h2>



This study focuses on the concept of&nbsp;co-extinction, a process where one species disappears because it depends entirely on another species that is going extinct.



In this case, the dependent species is a&nbsp;parasite, and the host is the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-discover-rare-marine-parasite-that-inhabits-black-corals/">species</a> it lives on. If the host population declines or dies out, the parasite often can't survive. But the key point here is that&nbsp;parasites may vanish even before the host does.



"Predictive models indicate that parasites may go extinct before their hosts during the coextinction process as opportunities to transmit between host individuals diminish," said Dr. Wood.



Even if the host species is saved later through conservation efforts,&nbsp;its lost parasites might never come back. This has unknown consequences. 



Parasites are hard to study, because they’re rarely recorded before they disappear. By the time scientists realize they’re gone, it's too late to learn about what role they played.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-wider-implications-for-biodiversity">Wider implications for biodiversity</h2>



The study highlights that parasite extinctions might happen more often than previously thought. 



"Our new research indicates that parasite extinctions may be far more prevalent than previous estimates suggest, with unknown impacts on their hosts and their ecosystems," noted Dr. Wood.



Study lead author Alexander Boast from Manaaki Whenua–Landcare Research was taken aback by the findings. 



"The level of parasite loss in kākāpō was greater than we had expected, and very few parasite species were found in both ancient and modern kākāpō populations," said Boast.



"Thus, it seems that endangered species everywhere may possess fractions of their original parasite communities."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-protecting-kakapo-parasites-from-extinction">Protecting kākāpō parasites from extinction</h2>



As biodiversity declines, the loss of less visible species like parasites may also increase. 



"Global rates of climate change, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-confirm-first-case-of-rare-parasite-in-pigs-posing-health-risks/">ecosystem</a> modification, and biodiversity decline continue to rise, which means there is an increasingly urgent need to recognize and understand the downstream impacts on dependent species, such as parasites, mutualists, or predators," said Dr. Wood.



"Documenting parasite extinction, how quickly it can unfold, and estimating the number of presently threatened parasites are key first steps toward a 'global parasite conservation plan' and supporting informed predictions for past, present, and future parasite losses."



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/abstract/S0960-9822(25)00875-9" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Current Biology</a>.



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Ancient bird droppings reveal massive parasite extinction

In the story of conservation, certain characters steal the spotlight....

More than a decade after a mysterious marine epidemic began wiping out sea stars, scientists have finally identified the cause. 



Published in Nature Ecology &amp; Evolution, the new study reveals that the devastating disease - known as sea star wasting disease (SSWD) - is caused by a strain of Vibrio pectenicida. 



This marks a major breakthrough in understanding the largest documented <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/terrifying-sea-stars-could-be-the-key-to-kelp-forest-recovery/">marine</a> epidemic in the wild.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-unmasking-the-killer">Unmasking the killer</h2>



Sea star wasting disease has killed billions of sea stars along the Pacific coast, affecting over 20 species from Alaska to Mexico. 



Researchers from the Hakai Institute, the University of British Columbia (<a href="https://www.ubc.ca" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">UBC</a>), and the <a href="https://www.washington.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Washington</a> set out to investigate, working with partners including The Nature Conservancy and the U.S. Geological Survey.



After four years of testing, the experts found that the culprit was V. pectenicida strain FHCF-3. Once inside the sea star, this strain causes lesions, arm loss, and tissue breakdown. The sea star can die in as little as two weeks.



“When we looked at the coelomic fluid between exposed and healthy sea stars, there was basically one thing different: Vibrio,” said Alyssa Gehman, senior author and marine disease ecologist at the <a href="https://hakai.org" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Hakai Institute</a> and UBC. “We all had chills. We thought, That’s it. We have it. That’s what causes wasting.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-sea-star-loss-disrupts-ocean-balance">Sea star loss disrupts ocean balance</h2>



The <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sunflower-sea-stars-are-nearly-extinct-but-scientists-are-growing-them/">loss</a> of sea stars, especially sunflower sea stars (Pycnopodia helianthoides), has reshaped coastal ecosystems. Over 90 percent of these giant sea stars are gone. 



“When we lose billions of sea stars, that really shifts the ecological dynamics,” said Melanie Prentice, first author and evolutionary ecologist at Hakai and UBC. 



“In the absence of sunflower stars, sea urchin populations increase, which means the loss of kelp forests, and that has broad implications for all the other marine <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sea-otter-populations-thrive-when-sea-stars-vanish-from-an-area-but-why/">species</a> and humans that rely on them.”



Gehman explained that after the sunflower sea stars disappeared, sea urchin populations exploded. Without predators to keep them in check, the urchins quickly devoured vast areas of kelp forest.



"Until this event, we didn’t really grasp the importance of the link between sunflower sea stars and kelp. We knew sunflower sea stars ate urchins. We didn’t know how much they mattered until they all died," said Gehman.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-kelp-forests-matter">Why kelp forests matter</h2>



Kelp forests are vital marine habitats. They support fisheries, attract tourists, shelter wildlife, and hold cultural value for coastal First Nations and tribal <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/deep-sea-life-is-more-connected-than-we-ever-realized/">communities</a>. They also store carbon and protect coasts from storms.



“Understanding what led to the loss of the sunflower sea star is a key step in recovering this species and all the benefits that kelp forest ecosystems provide,” noted Jono Wilson of <a href="https://www.nature.org/en-us/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Nature Conservancy</a>’s California chapter.



The research shows the importance of knowing what you're fighting. According to Prentice, it is incredibly hard to work on solutions without knowing what the pathogen is." 



“Getting this information makes management and recovery possible. Now all these doors are opened up to us, so we can start doing a lot more work to understand the drivers of disease and the roles played by different species," said Prentice.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-lab-tests-confirm-the-bacteria">Lab tests confirm the bacteria</h2>



The research team didn’t stop with detection. Amy M. Chan, a marine microbiologist at UBC, cultured the bacteria from infected sea stars. They then injected it into healthy ones. The rapid deaths confirmed&nbsp;V. pectenicida&nbsp;FHCF-3 as the cause of SSWD.



The team now wants to explore why this bacterium became such a threat. One possible answer is warmer oceans. Many Vibrio strains grow faster in warm water, and SSWD outbreaks often follow temperature spikes.



“Those patterns of Vibrio in general suggest that we really should look down that road to see how temperature dependence matters,” said Gehman.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-recovery-for-sea-stars">Recovery for sea stars</h2>



Now that scientists know the cause, they are ready to act. They aim to test for the disease, track outbreaks, and breed resistant sea stars. They are also exploring reintroduction into the wild.



“Now that we found the causative agent of disease, it makes me more hopeful that we might actually be able to do something for sunflower sea stars,” said Gehman. 



“We can be really targeted in how we work with them, and I think that’s going to help us move a lot faster and to try to tackle sea star wasting disease.”



According to Prentice, there is a parallel with the human experience of going through the COVID-19 pandemic, and how much COVID tests really changed the way we interacted.



"Now that we know what causes sea star wasting disease, we can develop a test to screen samples, and that will tell us which animals we can move around and what areas are best for reintroduction."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-future-for-sea-stars">The future for sea stars</h2>



“This finding opens up exciting avenues to pursue and expands the network of researchers able to develop solutions for recovery of the species," said Wilson. 



"We are now actively pursuing studies looking at genetic associations with disease resistance, captive breeding of the animals, and experimental outplanting to understand the most effective strategies and locations to reintroduce sunflower sea stars into the wild."



The death toll has been staggering. But with this breakthrough, the tide may turn. The future of sunflower sea stars (and the kelp forests they protect) could depend on what comes next.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-025-02797-2" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature Ecology &amp; Evolution</a>.



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Cause of death for billions of sea stars finally identified

More than a decade after a mysterious marine epidemic began...

After years of outsmarting conservation efforts, rhino horn traffickers may finally meet their match - and it’s coming from an unlikely source: nuclear science.



The Rhisotope Project, led by a team at <a href="https://www.wits.ac.za/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Wits University</a> in South Africa in collaboration with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), is using low-level radioactive isotopes to make <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/historical-photos-suggest-that-rhino-horns-have-gotten-smaller/">rhino horns</a> traceable at border checkpoints. 



After six years of testing, the project has now reached a point where it’s ready for widespread use.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-safe-for-rhinos-tough-on-traffickers">Safe for rhinos, tough on traffickers</h2>



Six months ago, the project embedded trace amounts of radioactive material into the horns of 20 rhinos living in the UNESCO Waterberg Biosphere. 



Since then, scientists have been closely monitoring the animals. Blood tests and veterinary checkups show no harm has been done.



“We have demonstrated, beyond scientific doubt, that the process is completely safe for the animal and effective in making the horn detectable through international customs nuclear security systems,” said Professor James Larkin, chief scientific officer of the Rhisotope Project.



To verify safety, researchers used a method called biological dosimetry. They cultured blood samples from the rhinos and looked for signs of cell damage in white blood cells. None were found. This confirms that the isotope levels used are well within safe limits.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-nuclear-tools-fight-poaching">Nuclear tools fight poaching</h2>



Nuclear tech, often tied to energy or medicine, is now helping fight <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/wildlife-crime-cases-can-be-solved-with-genetic-forensics/">wildlife crime</a> in a surprising new role. It’s a shift from the lab to the landscape, where science meets real-world urgency.



“This is one example of how Wits University’s researchers work and think innovatively, stepping out of the clinical environments of their laboratories to bring bold, creative solutions to some of the world’s toughest challenges,” said Professor Zeblon Vilakazi, vice-chancellor and principal of Wits University.



South Africa is home to most of the world’s rhinos. For more than a decade, it’s been losing them to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dehorning-rhinos-significantly-cuts-down-on-poaching/">poachers</a> who sell the horns on the black market. 



The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) now lists white rhinos as “Near Threatened” and black rhinos as “Critically Endangered.”



The project hopes to reduce this threat by making smuggled horns easier to detect. It aims to work not just visually, but with standard radiation detectors already used at airports and ports worldwide.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-rhino-horn-tracking-in-real-life">Rhino horn tracking in real life</h2>



To make sure the technology works in real-world conditions, the team tested how detectable the treated horns would be during transport.



“We simulated transport scenarios with the 3D-printed horns in carry-on luggage, air cargo shipments, and priority parcel delivery systems," said Larkin. "In each case, even a single horn with significantly lower levels of radioactivity than what will be used in practice successfully triggered alarms in radiation detectors,” 



The horns even showed up inside full-size shipping containers. That means border security officers around the world could start catching illicit shipments much more reliably.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-global-effort-to-protect-rhinos">Global effort to protect rhinos</h2>



The Rhisotope Project is a registered non-profit and will be fully operational starting August 2025. The team encourages conservation groups, rhino owners, and government agencies to reach out and participate.



“Our goal is to deploy the Rhisotope technology at scale to help protect one of Africa’s most iconic and threatened species," said Jessica Babich, CEO of the Rhisotope Project. "By doing so, we safeguard not just rhinos but a vital part of our natural heritage.” 



The project is already getting international attention - not just from wildlife groups, but from the nuclear -science community.



“This project exemplifies how nuclear science can be applied in novel ways to address global challenges,” said IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi. “By leveraging existing nuclear security infrastructure, we can help protect one of the world’s most iconic and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/national-endangered-species-day-protecting-life-on-the-brink/">endangered species</a>.”



For once, rhinos may have the upper hand. And with science on their side, their horns may become less of a prize - and more of a trap - for traffickers.



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Rhino horns go radioactive to stop poaching

After years of outsmarting conservation efforts, rhino horn traffickers may...

Gray wolf pups normally spend their first weeks tucked safely inside a den, eyes and ears still sealed, with none of the keen senses that will define them as adults.



So when biologists set remote cameras on the slopes east of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/yellowstone-supervolcano-eruption-study-sparks-new-debate-on-where-and-when-it-will-erupt/">Yellowstone National Park</a> and later scrolled through the images, they were astonished: adult wolves padding across steep, snow-dusted ridges with tiny pups dangling awkwardly from their jaws.



“The first time I saw a camera-trap photo of a wolf carrying its pup, I just cracked up because the pup is being carried by its butt,” recalled lead author Avery Shawler, who recently completed her doctorate at the <a href="https://www.berkeley.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of California, Berkeley</a>. “You can picture a squirming child and the mom just being like, ‘All right, we’re doing this.’”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-long-risky-moves-with-wolf-pups">Long, risky moves with wolf pups</h2>



That lighthearted moment led to a serious discovery. Shawler and colleagues paired thousands of GPS locations from 19 radio-collared wolves with the movements of ninety-nine elk. 



The team documented something never seen outside of the Arctic: packs taking long, risky journeys during pup-rearing season to shadow migrating prey.



Adult wolves sometimes commuted tens of miles from their dens to temporary hunting grounds. They sometimes moved entire litters over 12 miles to new sites closer to vulnerable newborn elk calves.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-wolves-climb-to-hunt-elk">Wolves climb to hunt elk</h2>



The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem hosts tens of thousands of elk, many of which leave low valleys each spring for higher, greener meadows. The ascents vary. Some herds wander only a few miles; others climb 50 or more. When the elk went far, certain wolf packs did too.



“Our findings counter years of assumptions that migratory <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/all-headgears-of-hoofed-mammals-come-from-a-common-ancestor/">hoofed mammals</a> can escape predation in spring because [their predators] are tied to dens and immobile offspring,” said senior author Arthur Middleton, a Berkeley wildlife ecologist who spent a decade tracking elk and their predators.



The data show that wolves are anything but immobile: they adapt their route, pace, and even nursery locations to keep elk within striking range.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-lugging-pups-through-the-mountains">Lugging pups through the mountains</h2>



GPS fixes revealed three broad strategies. Packs whose local elk stayed put also remained near original den sites, defending territories of roughly 15 square miles.



Others made what Shawler calls “commutes” - out-and-back forays of six to 12 miles that allowed adults to hunt migrating elk for a few days before returning to feed pups.



But the boldest tactic was true migration: entire packs shifted home ranges for weeks, lugging weeks-old pups through mountain passes in May or early June.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-moving-wolf-pups-is-dangerous">Moving wolf pups is dangerous </h2>



Moving infants is dangerous for any carnivore, but especially for wolves, which face lethal clashes with neighboring packs.



“In Yellowstone, research has shown how a lot of wolf mortality can come from other packs coming in and killing pups, because there’s a lot of packs competing for space and food,” Shawler said. “It’s pretty wild that this risky behavior of moving young pups is even occurring when that’s happening next door.”



Why gamble? Elk calves provide calorie-dense meals just when lactating females and growing pups need them most.



Climate change, however, is scrambling the timing of that resource. Earlier studies from Middleton’s lab show that elk now arrive on winter ranges as much as 50 days later than they did at the turn of the millennium, which lengthens the spring <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/birds-may-be-using-quantum-physics-for-migration/">migration</a>. 



Wolves apparently respond by prolonging their migration patterns too, refusing to let dinner disappear over the horizon.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ranchers-may-face-more-wolf-risks">Ranchers may face more wolf risks</h2>



More than five hundred wolves now roam the Yellowstone region, and many spend part of the year beyond park borders where cattle and sheep graze. Understanding when and where packs migrate could help ranchers anticipate predation risk.



“Our research provides some insight into the behavior of wolves living on working landscapes and how they’ve had to adapt to an environment that is different from what wolves were dealing with 100 years ago,” Shawler noted.



That insight is timely for California, where wolves recolonized in 2011 and now number perhaps a hundred across ten packs. Middleton, who co-leads the new <a href="https://wildlife.berkeley.edu/cawolfproject/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">California Wolf Project</a>, said the lessons from Yellowstone are shaping questions farther west.



“While it’s still early days, our partners in California have a strong hunch that the numbers and movements of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-does-climate-change-affect-deer-its-complicated/">deer</a> and elk are playing into wolf behavior, including livestock predation,” he explained. “The work around Yellowstone sharpens our ideas and approaches as we grow the project in California.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-climate-change-alters-migration-patterns">Climate change alters migration patterns</h2>



Both prey and predator are feeling the pressure of a warming, busier West. Earlier <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/changes-humidity-snowmelt-water/">snowmelt</a> and altered plant growth tug elk migration schedules in new directions, while expanding human settlement fragments habitat. Wolves reveal that cascade in real time. 



Their bold pup-carrying journeys are, in Middleton’s words, “a moving barometer of ecosystem change.”



For Shawler, the discovery also carries a note of wonder. Each blurred camera-trap frame of a mother wolf trotting uphill with a pup clamped gently in her jaws speaks to resilience. It also reveals the deep ecological choreography linking large carnivores with the great migrations of the hoofed animals they hunt.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0960982225008814" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Current Biology</a>.



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Wolves move pups across mountains to adapt to climate pressure

Gray wolf pups normally spend their first weeks tucked safely...

Wildlife conservation often depends on simple but vital numbers. How many animals are left? Where do they gather? Are their populations growing or shrinking? 



In the dense forests and winding rivers of the Amazon, answering such questions is far from easy. A team of researchers from the University of Florida has found a better way to count animals.



Their method, which uses drones and statistical models, confirmed the largest known nesting site for Giant South American River Turtles. The site lies along the Guaporé River in the Amazon, shared by Brazil and Bolivia.



Researchers counted over 41,000 turtles in one nesting season. This effort improves how scientists monitor threatened <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/world-wildlife-day-2025-a-global-call-to-protect-nature/">species</a>. 



"We describe a novel way to more efficiently monitor animal populations," said Ismael Brack, a postdoctoral researcher at <a href="https://ifas.ufl.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">UF/IFAS</a> and lead author of the study.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-turtles-under-pressure">Turtles under pressure</h2>



The Wildlife Conservation Society (<a href="https://www.wcs.org" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">WCS</a>) works across South America. It monitors the Giant South American River Turtle, a species under pressure from illegal hunting. These turtles are known for their social nesting behavior.



Every year in July or August, females gather to lay eggs on sandy banks. This seasonal event creates a rare chance to count them. Brack met WCS scientists at a conference and learned about their drone-based methods.



The team used orthomosaics - detailed images stitched from hundreds of aerial photos. These allow a wide view of nesting areas without disturbing the turtles.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-drone-counts-often-miss-animals">Drone counts often miss animals</h2>



Counting animals from <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/drones-reveal-hidden-biodiversity-in-rainforest-canopies/">drone</a> images is fast and non-intrusive, but it has limits. Traditional counts assume all individuals are visible and counted once. That’s rarely true.



Animals can leave or arrive during flights. Some may hide or appear multiple times. Marks on animals may also be obscured by dirt or shadows. To fix this, researchers used a modeling approach that corrects several common counting errors.



The method accounts for open populations, where animals come and go during the survey period. It also adjusts for movement-based double counts, where the same animal appears more than once in images. 



The model considers that some individuals may be unavailable during drone flights, and it includes cases where identifying marks on animals are not visible. The team painted 1,187 turtles with symbols and tracked sightings over 12 days.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tracking-how-animals-move-and-nest">Tracking how animals move and nest</h2>



The model used two core datasets: daily counts and repeated sightings of marked turtles. It assigned individuals to three states - walking, nesting, or gone.



By modeling how animals transitioned between these states, the team estimated true presence and visibility. The average turtle had a 36.9% chance of nesting each day.



Only about 35% of turtles present overnight were seen by the next morning. Just 11.8% of marked individuals stayed visible the following day.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-model-fixes-animal-count-mistakes">Model fixes animal count mistakes</h2>



Double counts caused major inflation. Roughly 20% of walking turtles appeared more than once. Some showed up seven times. About 22% of turtle marks were obscured and couldn’t be identified.



These corrections changed the results significantly. Ground teams counted nearly 16,000 turtles. Simple drone image counts (without corrections) gave a total near 79,000. The new method placed the number around 41,000.



"These numbers vary greatly, and that's a problem for conservationists," Brack said. "If scientists are unable to establish an accurate count of individuals of a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/thousands-of-animal-species-face-extinction-from-climate-change/">species</a>, how will they know if the population is in decline or whether efforts to protect it are successful?"



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-wider-value-for-conservation-science">Wider value for conservation science</h2>



The model adapts easily. It can support surveys of birds, seals, elk, and more. If animals are marked or tracked in some way, the approach adjusts for visibility, movement, and presence.



For example, seals may be clipped, elk wear collars, and goats marked with paint. The method could include GPS tags to track movement and avoid overcounts.



Different states - like nesting, feeding, or resting - can be defined depending on the species. This allows the model to capture time-based changes in animal behavior.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-drones-can-improve-animal-counts">Drones can improve animal counts</h2>



Researchers suggest marking individuals throughout the study, not just at the start. This captures changing patterns better. Surveys should cover the full aggregation period.



Skipping days between surveys can work, but only if the population turnover is low. When many animals come and go daily, shorter gaps give better data.



Ground observers missed many turtles, especially when numbers were high. Turtles block each other from view. Drones don’t have this problem. Images from above show the entire nesting site.



This gives researchers a repeatable, standardized method to compare counts over time. It reduces animal stress and is less invasive than catching or fencing turtles.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-s-next-in-animal-counting-nbsp">What’s next in animal counting&nbsp;</h2>



Brack and colleagues suggest expanding the surveys. Some turtles nested after the study ended. Nearby sandbanks may host others.



The new method could estimate total regional populations by including more sites and longer timeframes.



"By combining information from multiple surveys, we can detect population trends, and the Wildlife Conservation Society will know where to invest in conservation actions," Brack said.



This drone approach opens new paths for monitoring wildlife with accuracy, efficiency, and care.



The study is published in the <a href="https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2664.70081" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Journal of Applied Ecology</a>.



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Drones revolutionize animal counting and conservation efforts

Wildlife conservation often depends on simple but vital numbers. How...

On August 4, people across the world pause for a rare animal - one that few have seen in the wild. International Clouded Leopard Day shines a light on this elusive species, encouraging awareness, education, and action to support its conservation.



Clouded leopards live in dense forests across Asia. They’re not actually <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/xiaozhai-tiankeng-worlds-largest-sinkhole-heavenly-pit-showcases-nature-at-its-most-powerful/">leopards</a>. They are a unique kind of wild cat with big teeth, short legs, and beautiful markings. They move through trees like squirrels and vanish into the shadows when people approach.



Clouded leopards are facing serious threats. Their forest habitats are rapidly disappearing, fragmented by roads, farms, and expanding cities. 



Poachers target them for their teeth, bones, and fur, while others capture them for the illegal wildlife trade. As these pressures grow, their numbers continue to decline.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-purpose-of-clouded-leopard-day">Purpose of Clouded Leopard Day</h2>



International Clouded Leopard Day began in 2018. It was launched by two zookeepers, Lauren Amos and Dan Kem, at a zoo in the UK. They wanted more people to take notice of the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/leopard-seals-compose-songs-similar-to-nursery-rhymes/">species</a> and care about its future. 



Since then, dozens of zoos and wildlife groups have joined in. They hold events, share facts online, and raise money for conservation.



The idea caught on fast. The more people who hear about clouded leopards, the better their chances of survival.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-discoveries-about-clouded-leopards">Discoveries about clouded leopards </h2>



Over the last year, scientists have made big discoveries about clouded leopards. One 2025 study <a href="https://digitalrepository.wii.gov.in/items/d0cb2c7e-6844-438e-9b68-617172f4d2e2?utm_source=chatgpt.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">mapped</a> 18 key wildlife corridors across Asia. These corridors connect scattered forests and let the cats move freely. 



Without them, clouded leopards could end up stuck in shrinking patches of land. The same study warned that climate change might destroy over 40% of their habitat.



In Borneo, <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s44185-024-00052-8" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">another study</a> showed that many protected zones don’t line up with where the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/leopards-reveal-their-identity-through-a-distinct-roar/">animals</a> actually live. Researchers suggested focusing on high-risk areas instead. That shift could protect more forest and store millions of tons of carbon.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-range-and-genetic-diversity">Range and genetic diversity</h2>



In India’s Manas National Park, scientists used camera traps to estimate how many clouded leopards were present. After 11,000 trap-nights, they found only 12 cats. That’s about 1.7 leopards per 100 square kilometers, and that is not a healthy number.



Another surprise came from Tibet. In past <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/oryx/article/new-records-of-the-clouded-leopard-neofelis-nebulosa-in-the-qomolangma-national-nature-reserve-tibet/B8EB060F86E084EFDD30CC48598650BD?utm_source=chatgpt.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">studies</a>, cameras captured clouded leopards in a part of China where they weren’t expected. That discovery extended their known range by nearly 1,000 kilometers. It also raised questions - how many more places are they hiding?



And then there’s the genetic problem. A <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adh9143" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">study</a> showed low genetic diversity in both species. Inbreeding weakens future generations. Conservationists now want better breeding plans and tech to help keep the species strong.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-you-can-help">How you can help</h2>



Everyone can make a difference. Share information about clouded leopards. Learn more about them and start conversations. 



Support zoos and wildlife centers that care for these cats. If you are able, make a donation - every bit helps. 



Watch a documentary, visit a zoo that's involved in breeding programs, or sign petitions pushing for stronger forest protection. 



Choose products that don’t contribute to deforestation. Small actions, when added together, can have a big impact.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-honoring-clouded-leopard-day">Honoring Clouded Leopard Day</h2>



Clouded leopards play a big role in keeping forests healthy. They are top <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/leopard-seal-diets-are-reshaping-antarctic-ecosystems/">predators</a>, which means they help control the number of smaller animals like deer, monkeys, and rodents. When prey populations stay balanced, the entire ecosystem works better. 



Plants grow without being overgrazed, and other animals can find food and space to live. If clouded leopards disappear, this balance breaks down. 



Overpopulation of prey can lead to damaged forests, and that affects many other species too - including humans who depend on forests for clean air, water, and climate control.



International Clouded Leopard Day is more than just a yearly celebration. It’s a global reminder that this species is in trouble and needs attention. 



We still have the power to change what lies ahead for the clouded leopard. Through local conservation efforts and global partnerships, we can protect forest habitats and ensure they have the room they need to thrive. Time remains - and so does hope.



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International Clouded Leopard Day: On the edge of survival

On August 4, people across the world pause for a...

People usually imagine the deepest ocean floor as an empty wasteland. A new expedition to the Kuril-Kamchatka and Aleutian trenches shows that life there is anything but sparse.



Using the crewed submersible <a href="https://english.idsse.cas.cn/pf/uv/202412/t20241219_895465.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Fendouzhe</a>, researchers mapped a 1,553 mile stretch of trench floor between 19,000 and 31,267 feet and found bustling <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/world-oceans-day-2025-sustaining-what-sustains-us/">communities</a> fueled by chemicals instead of sunlight.&nbsp;



"Blood-red tentacles unfurling like delicate flowers in the trench, a stunning defiance of the harsh, crushing darkness,” said marine ecologist Mengran Du of the <a href="https://english.cas.cn/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Chinese Academy of Sciences</a>, describing the scene after returning to the surface.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-life-exists-deep-in-the-ocean">Life exists deep in the ocean</h2>



The hadal zone starts around 19,700 feet below the surface and drops to nearly 36,000 feet. Water there hovers just above freezing, and the pressure exceeds eight tons per square inch.



Until the late 1970s, most biologists doubted anything complex could thrive so far from sunlight. They were proved wrong when hydrothermal vents turned up, and the new trench survey pushes the boundary even deeper.



Pressure at those levels would snap a human bone in an instant. Electronics must be oil-filled or specially potted, or they will implode.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-microbes-fuel-deep-sea-animals">Microbes fuel deep-sea animals</h2>



The team documented colonies of chemosynthesis-dependent animals at forty-one separate sites. Instead of photosynthesis, microbes embedded in the sediment convert methane and hydrogen sulfide into sugars that flow up the food chain.



“We discovered thriving chemosynthesis-based communities at an astonishing depth of 9,533 meters,” said Du, the mission’s chief scientist. Converting that figure reveals a world flourishing more than 31,200 feet down.



Laboratory <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09317-z" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tests</a> on pore-water samples showed methane made entirely by <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/earths-oceans-are-rapidly-changing-colors-matching-climate-predictions/">microbes</a> rather than heat-cracked rock, backing the idea that biology, not geology, drives the energy supply. 



The same study reports methane concentrations in the mud that are 200 times higher than what seawater can hold at those depths.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-sub-dives-reveal-trench-life">Sub dives reveal trench life</h2>



Fendouzhe is built to shrug off the 16,000 pound per square foot squeeze that would crush most steel hulls. On earlier trials, the titanium sphere dipped to 35,790 feet in the Mariana Trench, so the 2024 trench transect fell well within its comfort zone.



The crew spent a combined 150 hours on the seafloor during 24 dives, collecting cores with robotic arms and steering high-definition cameras along fault scarps. 



At several stops, the pilots had to ease around towering clumps of siboglinid polychaetes whose white tubes formed shag carpets across the mud.



Each dive revealed something new, from beaches of clams the size of dinner plates to fields of ghostly white microbial mats. Many of those mats sat above visible cracks, hinting at seepage routes that pipe chemicals upward from deeper sediment layers.



Every core was sealed in chilled boxes aboard the mothership within minutes to keep deep-water microbes alive. Some are already growing in pressure vessels back on shore.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-deep-sea-worms-and-clams">Deep sea worms and clams </h2>



The most conspicuous animals were scarlet-tipped tube worms and thick-shelled bivalve molluscs. Both groups host bacteria inside their tissues that feed on trench gases and deliver nutrients to their hosts.



Adult tube worms even lack a mouth or gut, outsourcing digestion entirely to their microbial partners. That alliance lets them bloom in places where drifting organic crumbs from the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/world-nature-conservation-day-2025-a-healthy-future-for-all/">surface</a> would never be enough.



In turn, the worms create a three-dimensional forest that shelters worms, snails, and amphipods. Some clams were counted at more than 290 individuals per square yard, making these vents among the densest animal gatherings measured in the deep sea.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-the-trenches-matter-for-carbon">Why the trenches matter for carbon</h2>



Cold seeps pump methane into the ocean, but a lot of that gas gets locked into methane hydrate, an ice-like solid stable under high pressure. If hydrates are as widespread as the new cores suggest, trenches could store far more carbon than current climate models allow.



At the same time, trenches act like gutters that funnel dead plankton into narrow troughs where microbes chew it up fast and respire CO2. 



A recent geochemistry <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/marine-science/articles/10.3389/fmars.2024.1469547/full" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">survey</a> found oxygen consumption in trench sediments double that of nearby abyssal plains, underscoring their role as carbon reactors.



Carbon that escapes as hydrate might stay buried for millennia, whereas carbon exhaled as dioxide could re-enter the atmosphere through upwelling currents centuries later. Knowing which pathway dominates is essential for predicting long-term climate feedback.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-deep-sea-mysteries-still-unsolved">Deep sea mysteries still unsolved</h2>



Even with Fendouzhe’s reach, the team sampled just two trenches out of more than thirty. Geological maps show similar faults in the Kermadec, Tonga, and Peru-Chile trenches, all prime targets for the next cruises.



Researchers also want to know how trench animals disperse between isolated pits separated by thousands of miles. Genetic work on the worms hints at a shared ancestry across the North Pacific, suggesting larvae may ride deep <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/deep-sea-ecosystems-may-never-heal-from-mining-damage/">water</a> currents for years before settling.



Another puzzle is whether hydrates ever destabilize and belch methane into the water column during big earthquakes. Long-term observatories anchored near active faults could capture such rare events.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-more-deep-sea-life-may-exist">More deep sea life may exist</h2>



The discovery comes at a time when nations are racing to mine seafloor metals and drill for gas hydrates. Finding vast, fragile ecosystems beneath 30,000 feet adds weight to calls for stronger rules before industrial gear moves in.



It also broadens the search for life beyond Earth. If microbes can feed entire animal communities in pitch-black trenches, similar chemistries might support alien biospheres under the ice of Europa or Enceladus.



“Their resilience and beauty left me in awe,” said Du. Few people have seen what she saw, but the images and samples now preserve a snapshot of life at the planet’s outer limits.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09317-z" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature</a>.



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Deep sea expedition reveals thriving chemical-powered life

People usually imagine the deepest ocean floor as an empty...

The albatross is one of the largest flying birds on Earth, with wings that stretch up to 11 feet across. It spends most of its life in the air, gliding over open ocean with barely a wingbeat. That’s not just impressive - it’s efficient. And now, researchers want to learn from it.



At the <a href="https://www.uc.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Cincinnati</a>, scientists are trying to bring some of the albatross’s natural skill into modern drone technology. 



With a grant from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), Professor Sameh Eisa is leading a project that could change how unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) handle long-distance flight.



The goal is simple: make <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/drones-can-help-monitor-the-health-of-remote-seabird-colonies/">drones</a> fly longer and smarter using the same strategies that make the albatross a master of the skies.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-the-albatross-masters-flight">How the albatross masters flight</h2>



Albatrosses don’t flap much. They soar. They use a technique called <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/albatrosses-can-dive-much-deeper-than-previously-thought/">dynamic soaring</a>, which lets them ride the wind to stay airborne for hours - or days - without using much energy.



Eisa and his team developed a new way to mimic this in drones. They call it a “natural extremum-seeking system.” The concept is based on how birds instinctively adjust their pitch, roll, and airspeed to find the most energy-efficient flight path.



To stay aloft, albatrosses tack into the wind like sailboats. They climb until they lose momentum, then dive, using gravity and wind to push forward. Just before touching the water, they turn again, repeating the cycle endlessly. All of it happens without flapping.



“They use it skillfully. That’s the only way they can sustain such long flights,” Eisa said. “GPS trackers show these birds can fly hundreds of miles a week. By the time they die, they’ve flown 20 times the distance between the Earth and the moon.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-albatross-instincts-sensing-the-wind">Albatross instincts: Sensing the wind</h2>



Part of what makes the albatross so efficient isn’t just how it flies - it’s how it senses the environment. "Albatrosses literally have a nose for wind,” Eisa said.



They have sensitive nostrils that help them detect wind direction and speed. This helps them adjust their flight in real time, maximizing every rise and fall in the air. Eisa’s research shows that the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/hundreds-of-bird-species-could-vanish-in-the-next-century/">birds</a> manage to keep their total energy use stable throughout each dynamic soaring cycle.



In literature, the albatross has always been linked to the wind. Sailors once believed the bird was a sign of good weather. 



In The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, killing an albatross was blamed for a ship’s cursed, windless voyage. Now, science is proving just how vital this bird is to mastering flight.



“They are solving an optimization problem that is unbelievably complicated,” Eisa said. “They make it look natural and easy.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-drones-that-mimic-albatross-flight">Drones that mimic albatross flight </h2>



According to Eisa, simulating what the albatross does is not easy. Even powerful computers struggle with the calculations.



“A few seconds of data can take 100 seconds to generate. And albatrosses are doing it in real time with a high level of accuracy,” he said. “It seems implausible.”



For drones to match that, they’ll need to read the wind and adjust constantly. That means measuring changes in both speed and direction and altering their <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/hummingbird-wings-the-future-of-robotic-flight/">flight</a> path accordingly - all without human help.



“If we can get closer to how the albatross does it, we can be more efficient,” Eisa said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-turning-wind-into-an-advantage">Turning wind into an advantage</h2>



The project, named Albatross, brings together UC students, weather experts, industry engineers, and researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 



Traditionally, drones have struggled in windy conditions. This team wants to flip that. They believe wind can become an asset, not a problem.



Using Eisa’s new model of dynamic soaring, they’re building flight control systems that help drones ride the wind the way birds do. The designs will be tested with UC’s DARPA industry partners to measure how much energy can be saved.



The project isn’t just about drones. It could also help scientists better understand how albatrosses do what they do.



“If we can fly more efficiently like birds, we’ll have a brighter future for unmanned aerial systems,” Eisa said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-turning-albatross-flight-into-innovation">Turning albatross flight into innovation</h2>



The potential impact of this work goes beyond the lab. It could influence how drones are used in defense, science, and environmental research.



Gautam Pillay, UC's associate dean of research, said Eisa’s pioneering work exemplifies the transformative impact biomimicry is having on next-generation aerospace systems.



“By unlocking the secrets of dynamic soaring, we’re not just advancing unmanned aerial vehicle efficiency - we're addressing critical national defense priorities, such as endurance and adaptability in contested environments,” Pillay said.



“Just as importantly, students will get unparalleled experiential learning opportunities, placing them at the heart of cutting-edge research where theory meets real-world application in collaboration with top-tier institutions and industry partners."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-flight-as-a-lifelong-fascination">Flight as a lifelong fascination</h2>



Eisa has always been drawn to flight. Ask him what superpower he would choose - flight or invisibility - and he doesn’t hesitate.



“I think <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/do-birds-dream-of-flying-scientists-say-they-now-know-the-answer/">flying</a> is fascinating. It’s something we always yearn to do because we can’t do it," said Eisa. That passion fuels his work in biomimicry.



“Nature has been optimizing flight for millions of years of evolution. So to take this gift from nature and make it available to humanity is engineering at its best.”



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Albatross flight inspires a new generation of drones

The albatross is one of the largest flying birds on...

In the summer, wildlife watchers head to U.S. national parks hoping to catch a glimpse of a moose, a bear, or maybe even a wolf. But even with so much wildlife around, those moments are rare. A major study has just helped explain why.



The COVID-19 shutdowns in 2020 presented a unique opportunity to watch what animals do when people disappear. A multinational team of scientists from 13 universities, including the <a href="https://www.unl.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Nebraska–Lincoln</a>, took advantage of this moment.



The researchers tracked how large mammals behaved in the absence of people across 14 national parks and protected areas in the United States.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-when-people-disappeared">When people disappeared</h2>



Researchers from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln were among more than 60 scientists who collaborated on this massive project. They worked with partners like the National Park Service and several state agencies.



Using GPS collars, the team tracked 229 animals, including <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/lessons-from-the-past-predators-are-doomed-when-their-prey-vanishes/">predators</a> like wolves, mountain lions, grizzly bears, black bears, and foxes, as well as herbivores like moose, elk, mule deer, mountain goats, and bighorn sheep. 



The experts compared <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/animal-movement-predictions-matter-more-than-ever/">animal movements</a> during the pandemic shutdowns in 2020 to the same period in 2019, when parks were bustling with tourists.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-natural-wildlife-experiment-in-parks">A natural wildlife experiment in parks</h2>



The parks studied included Yellowstone, Yosemite, the Grand Canyon, Zion, Glacier, and others - some of the most iconic and heavily visited in the country.



“COVID provided ecologists with a valuable natural experiment,” said John Benson, one of the study’s researchers. 



“We know that animals can respond strongly to humans, but it is often not clear whether they respond to the 'human footprint' of roads, trails and development, or to the humans themselves. Our study allowed us to separate the foot from the footprint to an extent."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-wildlife-reaction-in-different-parks">Wildlife reaction in different parks</h2>



The main finding? Human activity leaves a mark - even when people aren’t there. While animals generally avoid roads, parking lots, trails, and campgrounds, their reactions aren’t all the same.



“Wildlife all around the world fear people and avoid areas of high human activity, but it was surprising to see that this holds true even in more remote protected areas,” said Kaitlyn Gaynor of the University of British Columbia, lead author of the study.



The team noticed that some species and individuals took advantage of the quiet, exploring areas they usually avoided. Others stuck to old habits, avoiding human infrastructure even when it was empty.



“There are so many factors that influence <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ai-tool-superanimal-can-accurately-analyze-animal-behavior/">animal behavior</a>: local environmental context, species, sex, age, seasons,” Benson said. 



“In a large-scale analysis with many species across so many parks, it was important to separate variation in behavior resulting from all these other sources, from changes in behavior due to reduced human activity during <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/covid-lockdowns-had-unexpected-impacts-on-wildlife-behavior/">COVID</a>."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-wild-animals-that-benefit-from-humans">Wild animals that benefit from humans</h2>



Some species are more cautious. Others seem to adapt. “Some species are just more wary of people than others, like bighorn sheep and mountain lions, while others have learned to associate humans with some benefit,” Gaynor explained. 



“The mule deer and elk in Zion National Park prefer being closer to developed areas and around humans. That could be because their predators might be avoiding people, so if deer and elk can learn to live with us, they can reduce the risk of becoming prey."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-most-animals-didn-t-change-their-behavior">Most animals didn’t change their behavior</h2>



In parks with more development, wildlife was more likely to explore previously avoided areas during closures. But the shift wasn’t as dramatic as headlines in 2020 might have suggested.



“We heard from managers in Yosemite National Park that when people came back, the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/why-are-some-black-bears-actually-brown/">black bears</a> stayed, which caused a lot of problems because the bears got used to the abundant food in Yosemite Valley and didn't want to give it up,” Gaynor said.



Still, most animals stuck to their usual avoidance behavior - even when parks were closed.



“While some individuals and populations showed a strong response to the absence of people during park shutdowns, most did not,” Gaynor noted. 



“Because a lot of headlines in 2020 implied that animals were taking back our national parks and were on the streets everywhere, we expected to see a bigger effect. But it takes just a few individuals to start changing their behavior to create the perception of a larger impact.”



Why didn’t more animals take advantage of the quiet? The researchers have a few ideas. First, the closures were short - just 58 days on average. That may not have been long enough for animals to sense a real change. 



Furthermore, animals that avoid people might already have been pushed to quieter areas long ago. Meanwhile, those used to humans may have barely noticed the difference.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-parks-shape-people-and-wildlife">Parks shape people and wildlife</h2>



Human presence changes the game for wildlife. It affects how animals find food, avoid predators, and interact with each other. That has ripple effects on entire ecosystems.



"The national parks have a dual mandate to preserve natural and cultural resources, while also providing enjoyment of the parks to people,” said Benson. “This made national parks really interesting places to study animal behavior during COVID closures." 



"While we often think of national parks as some of the last truly wild places on Earth, some also receive intense visitation by humans.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-balancing-recreation-and-conservation">Balancing recreation and conservation</h2>



Before the pandemic, U.S. national parks saw 327 million visits in 2019. That number rose even higher in 2024 to nearly 332 million.



“Yellowstone National Park, Yosemite National Park and the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/500-million-year-old-animal-fossils-in-grand-canyon-goldilocks-zone-early-animal-evolution/">Grand Canyon</a> are international destinations that are crowded at peak times of year, but the crowds are concentrated near the roads and visitor centers and parking lots,” Gaynor said. 



“The study provides evidence that conservation is compatible with recreation at low levels but that we do need to keep some areas exclusively for wildlife.”



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2025.1013" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Proceedings of the Royal Society B</a>.



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Wildlife in national parks: How do they act when people are gone?

In the summer, wildlife watchers head to U.S. national parks...

Walk through any African rainforest at the height of fruit season, and you will eventually stumble upon a surprising scene: apes foraging not in the treetops but on the forest floor, scooping up fallen figs or overripe marulas that have begun to ferment.



Until now, primatologists have documented the behavior but lacked a word that sets it apart from ordinary fruit eating. 



A new paper led by <a href="https://home.dartmouth.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Dartmouth College</a> anthropologist Nathaniel Dominy and <a href="https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of St Andrews</a> primatologist Catherine Hobaiter fixes that linguistic oversight by proposing a single, evocative term - “scrumping.”



“It’s not that primatologists have never seen scrumping - they observe it pretty regularly. But the absence of a word for it has disguised its importance,” Dominy explained.



By naming the habit, the authors hope to inspire more systematic data collection. This simple ground-level snack could hold outsized clues to why human beings tolerate <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/drunk-animals-may-explain-humans-love-of-alcohol/">alcohol</a> so well.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-medieval-word-for-a-modern-puzzle"><a></a>A medieval word for a modern puzzle</h2>



Scrumping originates from the Middle English rendering of the German “schrimpen.” The word described “shriveled” or “shrunken” fruit that had fallen off the tree. In rural England today, “scrumpy” refers to a rustic cider fermented from windfallen apples.



Dominy and Hobaiter argue that the linguistic lineage is perfect for apes pilfering fermented fruit. Both activities involve the opportunistic gathering of overripe produce with elevated alcohol content.



The name matters because, until now, field notes have lumped floor-foraging events with canopy foraging under the bland heading of “fruit feeding.” That lumping masks the ecological stakes. 



Once fruit hits the ground, it becomes a microbial playground where yeasts convert sugars into alcohols. This process often gives the fruit an ethanol punch of a few percent.



For a 220-pound chimp eating ten pounds of such fruit per day, that may add up to a low but steady dose of alcohol. If the capacity to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/living-at-high-altitude-leads-to-longer-life-by-changing-metabolism/">metabolize</a> that ethanol confers a survival advantage, then scrumping could have exerted evolutionary pressure on primate digestive enzymes.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-linking-scrumping-apes-to-alcohol-genes">Linking scrumping apes to alcohol genes</h2>



In 2015, geneticists reported that the primary enzyme humans use to break down ethanol - ADH4 - underwent a pivotal amino acid tweak in the last common ancestor of humans, chimpanzees and gorillas.



That mutation boosted the enzyme’s efficiency fortyfold. The genetic timeline aligns suspiciously well with fossil and climatic evidence suggesting early apes were spending more time on the ground, perhaps because <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/global-cooling-wont-be-a-quick-fix-for-the-state-of-our-oceans/">global cooling</a> was fragmenting forest canopies.



Dominy’s team suspected that scrumping, not tree foraging, was the behavior that turned the genetic key. To test the prevalence of ground-level fruit snacking, they combed through thousands of feeding observations for chimpanzees, western gorillas, mountain gorillas, and orangutans.



Every record pairing ground-level apes with a fruit species normally found higher in the canopy counted as a scrumping event. African apes did it routinely. 



Orangutans of Southeast Asia, by contrast, almost never did - and tellingly, the 2015 gene study shows orangutans have a far less efficient version of ADH4.



These weren’t differences of nuance - African apes scrump on a regular basis, but orangutans do not. The contrast strengthens the idea that processing dietary ethanol was an adaptive edge for African lineages.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-escaping-competition-avoiding-falls"><a></a>Escaping competition, avoiding falls</h2>



Why would a large ape bother with windfall fruit instead of plucking fresher pieces overhead? Dominy points to two incentives. 



First, avoiding the highest branches reduces the risk of potentially fatal falls - a risk he and co-author Luke Fannin quantified in a 2023 study showing that accidents in the canopy exact serious tolls on primate skeletons.



Second, staying on the ground lets apes sidestep competition with smaller, more nimble monkeys that strip trees of unripe fruit. If ethanol metabolism means an ape can safely eat the fermented fare, it gains a foraging niche all its own.



“A fundamental feature of our relationship with alcohol is our tendency to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/why-social-drinking-feels-so-different-from-drinking-alone/">drink together</a>," said Hobaiter. She wonders whether shared ape scrumping sessions reinforce social bonds in apes the way communal drinking does in humans.



Future fieldwork will track whether group foraging for windfallen fruit correlates with grooming, alliance formation, or mating opportunities.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-happy-hour-in-the-jungle">Happy hour in the jungle</h2>



The next empirical frontier is chemistry. Researchers plan to sample ethanol concentrations in fruits still hanging versus fruits lying on the forest floor. They will also monitor ape breath or urine for ethanol metabolites to estimate intake more precisely.



If chronic low-level exposure proves common, it could reshape narratives about ancient hominin diets and even the timing of the agricultural revolution, when humans began deliberately fermenting grains and grapes.



“Scrumping by the last common ancestor of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/gorillas-are-digging-for-a-surprising-food-in-the-jungle-soil/">gorillas</a>, chimpanzees, and humans about 10 million years ago could explain why humans are so astoundingly good at digesting alcohol,” Dominy noted.



He suggests that long before our ancestors brewed beer, natural selection had already equipped them with biochemical bar tabs.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-will-scrumping-stick">Will scrumping stick?</h2>



Scientific neologisms catch on only if they fill a conceptual gap - think “symbiosis” in the 19th century or Richard Dawkins’s “meme” in 1976. Dominy believes scrumping meets that test.



It instantly conveys a specific behavior - ground foraging for fermented fruit - that generic terms cannot. If colleagues adopt the label, datasets will soon be searchable, hypotheses testable, and evolutionary stories clearer.



“We never knew we needed the word until we did. That’s natural selection at work,” Dominy said. Whether scrumping becomes a staple of primatology vocabulary remains to be seen. 



But the paper makes a compelling case: name the behavior, and the science of why we drink - and how we evolved - may gain a fresh ferment of insight.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/advance-article/doi/10.1093/biosci/biaf102/8215783">BioScience</a>.



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"Scrumping" apes may explain how humans started drinking alcohol

Walk through any African rainforest at the height of fruit...

We hear a lot about how climate change affects animals - but what if the reverse is also true?



New research suggests that when animals disappear from forests, the forests lose one of their key tools for fighting climate change. That connection between animals and climate may be even stronger than we thought.



Scientists at the <a href="https://www.mit.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Massachusetts Institute of Technology</a> have found that tropical forests regrow much more effectively when they still have healthy populations of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/some-plants-wont-survive-the-loss-of-seed-dispersing-animals/">seed-dispersing animals</a>. 



In fact, they can absorb up to four times more carbon than similar forests where those animals are missing or declining.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-forests-need-wildlife-to-function">Forests need wildlife to function</h2>



Tropical forests are the planet’s biggest land-based carbon sinks. That means they absorb and store more carbon than any other type of ecosystem. 



So, understanding what keeps those forests functioning isn’t just an ecological question - it’s a climate question.



Evan Fricke, a research scientist in the MIT Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, is the lead author of the new study.



“The results underscore the importance of animals in maintaining healthy, carbon-rich tropical forests,” said Fricke. “When seed-dispersing animals decline, we risk weakening the climate-mitigating power of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/tropical-forests-are-struggling-to-keep-pace-with-climate-change/">tropical forests</a>.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-animals-are-nature-s-forest-planters">Animals are nature’s forest planters</h2>



If you’ve ever watched a monkey munch on fruit or a bird fly off with a berry, you’ve seen nature’s version of forest management in action.



When these animals eat fruit and later defecate the seeds elsewhere, they help forests regenerate. In tropical regions, over 75 percent of tree species depend on animals to disperse their seeds.



Without those animals, seeds don’t travel far, germinate less often, and forests grow back more slowly - if at all.



Fricke has spent nearly 15 years studying this process. He’s shown in past work that animal seed dispersal helps <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/trees-have-unique-fungi-partnerships-that-help-them-survive/">trees survive</a> and adapt. Now, his team is thinking more broadly about what that means for the planet.



“We’re now thinking more about the roles that animals might play in affecting the climate through seed dispersal,” Fricke said. 



“We know that in tropical forests, where more than three-quarters of trees rely on animals for seed dispersal, the decline of seed dispersal could affect not just the biodiversity of forests, but how they bounce back from <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/global-deforestation-crisis-how-can-we-stop-massive-forest-losses/">deforestation</a>. We also know that all around the world, animal populations are declining.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-impact-of-missing-animals">The impact of missing animals</h2>



To find out just how big an impact this has, the MIT researchers pulled together massive datasets - on biodiversity, animal movement, seed dispersal, and carbon storage. They studied 17,000 plots, tracking animals’ locations, movements, and the seeds they dispersed.



The team also factored in human pressures. In areas with heavy human activity, animals didn’t travel as far or scatter seeds as widely. The team built an index to measure how much <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/insects-play-a-much-bigger-role-in-seed-dispersal-than-we-thought/">seed dispersal</a> had been disrupted and compared that to how much carbon forests in those areas could store.



“It was a big task to bring data from thousands of field studies together into a map of the disruption of seed dispersal,” Fricke said. “But it lets us go beyond just asking what animals are there to actually quantifying the ecological roles those animals are playing and understanding how human pressures affect them.”



What they found was striking. Forests lost 1.8 metric tons of carbon per hectare yearly where seed-dispersing animals had declined. That’s a 57 percent drop in regrowth potential.



The finding that disrupted seed dispersal leads to a fourfold drop in carbon absorption highlights seed dispersers as a key driver of tropical forest carbon.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-animals-make-climate-solutions-work">Animals make climate solutions work</h2>



Not all forests are equally positioned for regrowth. The team found that some landscapes are more promising than others - especially those near intact forests or with lots of tree cover. 



In these places, animal populations are more stable, which helps forests bounce back naturally.



“In the discussion around planting trees versus allowing trees to regrow naturally, regrowth is basically free, whereas planting trees costs money, and it also leads to less diverse forests,” said Professor César Terrer.



“With these results… we can understand where natural regrowth can happen effectively because there are animals planting the seeds for free.”



This research adds a new layer to climate modeling. If seed-dispersing animals are missing, regrowth estimates may be too optimistic. If animals are thriving, some areas may have more regrowth potential than previously thought.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-saving-forests-means-saving-animals">Saving forests means saving animals</h2>



The researchers suggest several ways to support seed-dispersing animals. These include restoring habitats, building wildlife corridors, and limiting activities like wildlife trade. 



In some cases, reintroducing missing species or planting trees that attract them could help restore these lost relationships.



It’s also about getting the science right. Future studies may examine whether the decline in tropical forests’ carbon-absorbing power is linked more to extreme weather or to the loss of these animal-plant partnerships.



“Forests provide a huge climate subsidy by sequestering about a third of all <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/earth-faces-hidden-mechanical-stress-from-carbon-emissions/">human carbon emissions</a>,” Terrer said. “Tropical forests are by far the most important carbon sink globally, but in the last few decades, their ability to sequester carbon has been declining."



The team will next investigate whether the decline is driven more by extreme droughts and fires or by reduced animal seed dispersal.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-losing-wildlife-worsens-warming">Losing wildlife worsens warming</h2>



Ultimately, the findings point to a deeper truth. Climate and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/diverse-forests-are-more-resilient-and-productive/">biodiversity</a> aren't separate problems - they're intertwined.



“It’s been clear that climate change threatens biodiversity, and now this study shows how biodiversity losses can exacerbate climate change,” said Fricke. “These are challenges we need to tackle in tandem."



“When we lose our animals, we’re losing the ecological infrastructure that keeps our tropical forests healthy and resilient."



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2500951122" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>.



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Forests rely on animals to help fight climate change

We hear a lot about how climate change affects animals...

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



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



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



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



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



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



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Worms dominated seas before dinosaurs

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



The full study was published in the journal Current Biology.



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Earth's oldest forest found in the United States

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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The environmental problem we actually solved

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

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

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







Mid-July is an opportune time to kick-start a thriving fall garden, and this guide lays out the best vegetables and herbs to plant now for a fruitful autumn harvest. 



Fast-growing leafy greens such as spinach, lettuce, kale, and arugula perform especially well in the waning summer heat, with harvests beginning as soon as 30 days. 



These cool-season crops relish the transition into fall, offering repeated yields with cut-and-come-again methods.



Root vegetables like radishes, carrots, and beets also excel during this period. Radishes deliver satisfaction in under a month, while carrots and beets mature in about two months. Employing succession planting ensures a continuous stream of produce deep into the cooler months. 



For a boost of fresh flavor, herbs like cilantro, basil, dill, and chervil are excellent picks. These heat-loving varieties flourish in July’s warmth and are harvest-ready in about 30 days, especially when sown continuously.



Gardeners in zones 6 through 9 can benefit from planting bush beans and snap peas, which don’t require trellising and are ideal for compact plots. 



Maturing in 50–60 days, they’re a smart choice for quick, protein-rich harvests. For those in hotter regions, heat-tolerant crops such as okra and southern peas provide reliable yields and thrive in scorching conditions.



This guide emphasizes more than crop selection—it highlights the importance of timing, soil preparation, and ongoing sowing techniques. 



With thoughtful planning and attention to regional climate needs, even late-summer gardeners can enjoy fresh salads, hearty stews, and the satisfaction of a robust, homegrown harvest well into fall.



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What to plant in your garden in mid-July

https://youtu.be/Fi2OeEwuzRM?si=vTyd2m9FMmtyWkex Mid-July is an opportune time to kick-start a thriving...

Green,Ecoduct,Over,An,Empty,Highway,During,Sunset.

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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Wildlife tunnels save millions of amphibians

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Is chocolate the next nutritional powerhouse?

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

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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

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



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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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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



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How does salt makes things taste better?

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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