Jaguars already carry a reputation as strong swimmers. What nobody expected was just how far one could go. In Brazil’s Serra da Mesa Reservoir, camera traps caught an adult male jaguar making the longest confirmed swim ever recorded for the species.



The journey covered at least 1.27 kilometers (0.79 miles) of open water. If the cat skipped a smaller islet along the way, the distance stretched closer to 2.3 kilometers (1.43 miles). Either option shattered previous records, which had topped out at just 200 meters (656 feet).



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-record-jaguar-swim">Record jaguar swim</h2>



The jaguar first appeared on camera traps along the mainland in 2020. Four years later, the same animal showed up again, this time on a forested island. Its coat pattern left no doubt about its identity.



Leandro Silveira from the <a href="https://www.institutooncapintada.org.br/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Jaguar Conservation Fund</a> noted that the team used a conservative estimate, assuming the jaguar paused on a smaller island before continuing. In reality, the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/after-300-years-ruins-of-this-rebellious-city-sak-bahlan-are-emerging-that-spain-tried-to-erase/">animal</a> might have swum the full 2.3-kilometer (1.43-mile) stretch in one go.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-big-cats-cross-unexpected-gaps">Big cats cross unexpected gaps</h2>



For years, hydropower reservoirs were seen as walls to big carnivores. Islands more than a kilometer (0.62 miles) away were often assumed unreachable, leaving them without top <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/jaguars-offer-a-glimpse-of-survival-in-a-changing-world/">predators</a>. Yet this swim tells a different story.



Reservoirs don’t always act as absolute barriers. Instead, they impose different costs depending on distance and conditions. Warm water, quiet surroundings, and an islet or two can lower those costs enough to let a jaguar cross.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-lions-and-cougars-swim-too">Lions and cougars swim too</h2>



This isn’t the first big cat to push across long channels. <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mountain-lions-cleverly-change-their-habits-to-avoid-humans/">Lions</a> in Uganda’s Kazinga Channel have crossed distances of more than a kilometer, driven by the calls of females on the opposite bank.



In Washington State, cougars have braved cold, fast-moving waters to reach islands, sometimes swimming more than a kilometer (0.62 miles) in open channels.



These journeys highlight the determination of large carnivores when survival, reproduction, or territory expansion is at stake. Long swims may be rare, but when the incentive is strong enough, even top predators will take the risk.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-jaguars-thrive-in-all-terrains">Jaguars thrive in all terrains</h2>



Jaguars have always adapted to diverse <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/preserving-earths-genetic-future-before-its-too-late/">environments</a>. Some stalk prey in the Amazon floodplains. Others survive in the dry Caatinga with little water at hand. 



Research using GPS collars has shown that jaguars can cover more than 120 kilometers (74 miles) in a month, even in areas shaped by human activity. The reservoir crossing adds to this evidence of resilience and adaptability.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-scale-for-crossings">A scale for crossings</h2>



A new framework ranks aquatic challenges on a simple scale. Short swims under 300 meters (984 feet) with islets fall into the low-cost category. Distances up to 1,000 meters (0.62 miles) with stepping-stones are considered medium cost.



Anything over one kilometer (0.62 miles) without help qualifies as high cost. The Serra da Mesa crossing lands firmly in the high-cost range but proves that jaguars can still manage.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-reservoirs-impact-jaguar-survival">Reservoirs impact jaguar survival</h2>



Hydropower projects have already submerged more than 25,000 square kilometers (9,650 square miles) of jaguar habitat. 



The flooding converted continuous forests into scattered islands. In Venezuela’s Guri Reservoir, islands more than one kilometer (0.62 miles) from the mainland eventually lost their predators, which triggered ecological collapse.



The Brazilian record challenges that bleak picture. If conditions align, jaguars can bridge gaps once assumed permanent. Protecting riparian forests, keeping natural shorelines intact, and safeguarding small islands could all help create corridors that keep populations connected.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-primates-in-the-water">Primates in the water</h2>



The lesson doesn’t stop with jaguars. Primates in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/deforestation-is-drying-the-amazon-more-than-climate-change/">the Amazon</a> have been observed swimming between islands, though only short distances.



Waterways that look like dead ends for land animals may instead be costly, but sometimes usable, filters. By planning for those possibilities, conservationists can keep ecosystems more intact even in reservoir-dominated regions.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-rethinking-fragmented-habitats">Rethinking fragmented habitats</h2>



A jaguar swimming more than a kilometer (0.62 miles) across a dam reservoir forces a rethink. Water is not always an immovable wall. It can be a demanding path, but one that big predators can take. Recognizing these abilities changes how we view fragmented habitats. 



Understanding when those paths open up, and what makes them possible, could shape how conservationists manage landscapes in a century marked by dams, development, and habitat loss. 



It also raises questions about how often such events occur, how many animals attempt them, and whether these rare crossings can keep isolated populations connected over generations.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.09.05.674446v1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">bioRxiv</a>.



-----



Like what you read? <a href="https://www.earth.com/subscribe/">Subscribe to our newsletter</a> for engaging articles, exclusive content, and the latest updates.&nbsp;



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



-----

Jaguar stuns scientists with longest swim ever recorded

Jaguars already carry a reputation as strong swimmers. What nobody expected was just how far one could go. In Brazil’s Serra da Mesa Reservoir, camera traps caught an adult male jaguar making the longest confirmed swim ever recorded for the species. The journey covered at least 1.27 kilometers (0.79 miles) of open water. If the cat skipped a smaller islet along the way, the distance stretched closer to 2.3 kilometers (1.43 miles). Either option shattered previous records, which had topped out at just 200 meters (656 feet)....

Common swifts <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fruit-flies-can-travel-six-million-times-their-body-length/">travel</a> more than 350 miles on an average day and have the capacity to travel even farther, according to a new study from <a href="https://www.cell.com/">Cell Press</a>. The researchers recorded a maximum distance of more than 500 miles per day over nine days.

"We have discovered that common swifts breeding in the most northern part of the European breeding range perform the fastest migrations of swifts recorded so far, reaching above the predictions," said Susanne Åkesson of Lund University in Sweden. 

When they are not breeding, common swifts stay in the air most of the time up to 10 months of the year. Prior to this study, scientists estimated that the birds travel an average of about 500 kilometers, or 310 miles, per day. The new research suggests that this is a conservative estimate.

"The swifts seem to achieve these high speeds over substantial distances - on average about 8,000 kilometers one way - in spring by using a mixed migration strategy, with fueling at stopover and a fly-and-forage strategy, meaning they feed and fuel a bit each day."

The researchers used miniature tracking devices to monitor adult breeding swifts from one of the most northern breeding locations in Europe. The team was able to recover many of the tracking devices after one migration season. 

The tracking data confirmed that northern breeding swifts reach exceptionally high migration speeds. But the researchers did not expect to find that the birds could travel at the rates that were recorded. 

Swifts manage to travel quickly by using a fly-and-forage strategy, which works for species that can easily find food along their journey, such as flying insects. 

"The strategy will substantially reduce the cost of transport since they do not need to carry so much fuel, which will increase the realized speed of migration," explained Åkesson.

According to the researchers, the swifts also have another trick - they seem to time their departures for migration so that they coincide with favorable winds. 

"This means they do not react directly to local winds but to what they expect to find along the route ahead during the next few days."

While it is not yet clear how the swifts can forecast the wind and make decisions based on it, Åkesson suggests that they may rely on air pressure associated with passing weather systems. The wind strategy helps the swifts gain an extra 20 percent of support from tailwinds in the spring compared to the fall. 

"The airspeed of common swifts is not exceptional (about 10 meters/second) as compared to other bird migrants," said Åkesson. "But these strategic adaptations contribute to the high overall migration speeds."

"In addition, their selective use of tailwinds promotes even higher migration speeds, which may explain how they reach above the predicted maximum speed during spring migration."

The experts noted that pesticide use may pose a threat to swifts, considering their reliance on insects. Climate change and shifting weather patterns may also have unknown effects on the birds. 

Åkesson said her team will continue to study swifts in different parts of the world. The researchers hope to learn more about the physiological adaptations that support the swifts' highly mobile lifestyle.

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/iscience/home">iScience</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Common swifts are even faster than previously realized

Common swifts travel more than 350 miles on an average...

Scientists have discovered a new type of coronavirus in human patients hospitalized with pneumonia that originated in dogs. If confirmed as a pathogen, this may be the eighth unique coronavirus known to cause disease in humans.

According to a report from <a href="https://www.reuters.com/">Reuters</a>, the researchers tested nasal swab samples taken from 301 pneumonia patients at a hospital in the east Malaysian state of Sarawak. Eight of the samples came back positive for a canine coronavirus.

Genetic testing showed that the new virus, known as CCoV-HuPn-2018, shares characteristics with other coronaviruses known to have infected cats and pigs. However, the strain was found to be mostly similar to one that is known to have infected dogs.

The experts report that the coronavirus also contained a genetic deletion, or mutation, that was not found in any known canine coronaviruses but was present in human strains such as SARS-COV and SARS-COV-2. The source of SARS-COV-2, which causes COVID-19, has not yet been identified.

While the findings indicate that the virus likely jumped from animals to humans, and did so recently, the researchers stress that more studies are needed to determine whether it can be transmitted between people.

“At this point, we don’t see any reasons to expect another pandemic from this virus, but I can’t say that’s never going to be a concern in the future,” said Professor Anastasia Vlasova of The Ohio State University.

She conducted the study with Professor Gregory C. Gray at the Duke University School of Medicine, and Professor Teck-Hock Toh of SEGi University in Sarawak, Malaysia.

The study authors emphasize that it is unclear whether the virus can make people sick, noting that it is possible it was merely "carried" in the patient's airways without causing disease.

“We don’t really have evidence right now that this virus can cause severe illness in adults,” said Professor Vlasova, who noted that only one person in the study found to have been infected with the new coronavirus was an adult. 

“I cannot rule out the possibility that at some point this new coronavirus will become a prevalent human pathogen. Once a coronavirus is able to infect a human, all bets are off.”

“If you had mentioned this 20 years ago, that a virus that affects dogs could change to be able to infect people, many would have been skeptical." 

Professor Vlasova added that even though this new coronavirus comes from a dog, it may not be necessary for people to change how they interact with their dogs in light of this study.

“We are likely missing important animal viruses that are beginning to adapt to humans,” said Professor Gray. 

“We need to conduct such virus discovery work among people with pneumonia and also among people who have intense exposure to animals so that we get early warning of a new virus which may become a future pandemic virus.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://academic.oup.com/cid">Clinical Infectious Diseases</a>. 

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

New coronavirus identified that has originated in dogs

Scientists have discovered a new type of coronavirus in human...

The current biodiversity crisis in freshwater ecosystems is worse than that associated with the mass extinction event that killed the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/giant-lizards-were-thriving-during-the-age-of-dinosaurs/">dinosaurs</a>. 

In a new report from the <a href="https://www.naturalis.nl/en">Naturalis Biodiversity Center</a>, researchers warn that the damage being done today - in a relatively short timescale of decades to centuries - will take millions of years to recover from. 

One of the most urgent challenges of this century is the ongoing biodiversity crisis, which is often referred to as the 6th mass extinction. According to the researchers, the rate at which we lose species today is unprecedented and has not been reached during major extinction crises in the past. 

Both directly and indirectly, humans are pushing species beyond the limits of what they can survive. The major drivers of the biodiversity crisis include habitat destruction, climate change, overexploitation, pollution, and the introduction of invasive species.

An international team of experts led by the Justus Liebig University Giessen set out to investigate the extent of today's biodiversity crisis by comparing it with the Cretaceous extinction event, which resulted from an asteroid impact 66 million years ago. 

The Cretaceous extinction event wiped out about 76 percent of all species on the planet, including the dinosaurs. 

The researchers focused on the impacts to freshwater animals. They analyzed a large dataset containing 3,387 fossil and living snail species of Europe covering the past 200 million years.

The study showed that the extinction rate for freshwater biota during the 5th mass extinction was considerably higher than what was previously believed. At the same time, the researchers found that this rate was drastically lower than what is predicted for the current 6th mass extinction event. 

On average, the projected rate for the 6th mass extinction is three orders of magnitudes higher than during the time the dinosaurs went extinct. By 2120, a third of all living freshwater species are expected to have vanished.

"Losing species entails changes in species communities and, in the long run, this affects entire ecosystems. We rely on functioning freshwater environments to sustain human health, nutrition and fresh water supply," said study lead author Dr. Thomas A. Neubauer.

The experts uncovered an alarming pattern in the 5th mass extinction event that could have dire consequences implications for the ongoing biodiversity crisis. After the asteroid impact, the extinction rate remained high for approximately five million years, and this was followed by an even longer period of recovery that lasted for millions more years. 

According to the researchers, it took nearly 12 million years until the balance was restored between species emerging and going extinct.

"Even if our impact on the world's biota stops today, the extinction rate will likely stay high for an extended period of time," explained Dr. Neubauer. 

"Considering that the current biodiversity crisis advances much faster than the mass extinction event 66 million years ago, the recovery period may be even longer."

"Despite our short existence on Earth, we have assured that the effects of our actions will outlast us by millions of years."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/commsenv/">Communications Earth &amp; Environment</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Ongoing biodiversity crisis will take millions of years to recover from

The current biodiversity crisis in freshwater ecosystems is worse than...

A study from <a href="https://www.aaas.org/">AAAS</a> is shedding new light on the negative impacts of human activities on <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/extraordinary-biodiversity-found-in-ancient-asian-rainforest/">biodiversity</a>. The researchers found that after European colonists arrived on the Guadeloupe Islands in the Caribbean, up to 70 percent of the local reptiles went extinct.

The study was focused on 43,000 fossilized bones of reptiles from six islands. The results of the analysis suggest that Indigenous populations who lived on the islands for thousands of years before the colonists' arrival did not diminish the diversity of local reptiles. 

According to the experts, the research highlights the importance of considering fossil data when investigating how humans have impacted biodiversity. 

"Large-scale extinction is one of the defining challenges of our time, as human processes fundamentally and irreversibly reshape global ecosystems," wrote the researchers.

"While the extinction of large animals with popular appeal garners widespread public and research interest, the importance of smaller, less 'charismatic' species to ecosystem health is increasingly recognized." 

"Benefitting from systematically collected fossil and archaeological archives, we examined snake and lizard extinctions in the Guadeloupe Islands of the Caribbean."

The fossilized remains originated in 31 different sites on the Guadeloupe Islands, and were sorted into four groups: the Late Pleistocene, the Holocene before the arrival of humans, the Indigenous habitation period, and the modern period, beginning 458 years ago. 

The team reconstructed the evolutionary history and diversity of the reptiles over the past 40,000 years. The study revealed that mass extinction of the islands' reptiles occurred over only the last 500 years. 

The researchers determined that tree-dwelling species were less impacted by the European settlers than ground dwelling reptiles, and that medium-sized lizards and snakes were more vulnerable than smaller ones. 

There was also evidence that the colonists introduced predators, including cats, mongooses, rats, and raccoons, that may have been responsible for the extinctions.

"These results demonstrate that failure to consider fossil-derived data, especially regarding poorly studied lineages, probably contributes to a substantial underestimation of the magnitude of the human impact to global biodiversity," wrote the study authors. 

The research is published in the journal <a href="https://advances.sciencemag.org/">Science Advances</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Human settlement of the Guadeloupe Islands wiped out many reptiles

A study from AAAS is shedding new light on the...

Monitoring the outcomes of two Ethiopian bird species could help validate the predictive ability of widely used climate models, according to a new study from the <a href="https://www.cam.ac.uk/">University of Cambridge</a>.

The White-tailed Swallow and the Ethiopian Bush-crow are threatened with extinction under similar circumstances. The birds are living in "climatic lifeboats," with their tiny habitat ranges restricted on all sides by temperature and rainfall patterns. 

The experts report that, even under moderate levels of warming, models predict a severe loss of suitable climate for both bird species within the next 50 years. This will drastically increase their risk of extinction.

The research suggests that tracking the response of these birds to climate change will be crucial for preventing other species from going extinct in the wild.

Conservation measures such as assisted migration and captive breeding may be the only options available to safeguard the White-tailed Swallow and the Ethiopian Bush-crow now that climate change has eliminated their habitats. Understanding the birds' ranges will inform conservation management plans for them in the newly formed Yabello National Park in Ethiopia.

"To find that two species are both limited by temperature at every edge of their global distribution is really quite remarkable," said study first Dr. Andrew Bladon. "These completely unrelated species are influenced very similarly by aspects of the local climate. As the temperature rises due to climate change, they will struggle to survive."

The researchers considered the potential impacts of future climate change projections from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). These conditions ranged from the best case scenario - in which carbon emissions are reduced - to the worst case scenario with no change change in carbon emissions. In the worst case scenario, temperatures will rise by three to five degrees Celsius this century.

The experts found that, in all scenarios, both species are at severe risk of extinction in the next 50 years as the climate is predicted to become unsuitable for their survival.

The foraging ability of Ethiopian Bush-crows is impacted by temperature. The scientists expect them to start disappearing quickly once their range gets too hot.

The mechanism by which warming causes the decline of the White-tailed Swallows is not yet clear, but it seems to have a negative impact on breeding success.

"Climate change-driven increases in temperature are terrible for the long-term survival of these two bird species. But if they do go extinct in the next fifty years, they are at least a useful test case to validate climate models that inform a lot of conservation work," said Dr. Bladon.

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/">PLOS ONE</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

The fate of two bird species could help save others

Monitoring the outcomes of two Ethiopian bird species could help...

Experts at <a href="https://msu.edu/">Michigan State University</a> have revealed how extreme <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/antarctic-ice-sheet-is-controlled-by-weather-in-the-northern-hemisphere/">weather</a> events can impact wild bee populations. Professor Rufus Isaacs says the research highlights the need for more long-term studies.

"There are few bee studies in the U.S. that have sampled bees for many years at the same location. There are even fewer that use the same methods over more than a decade," said Professor Isaacs.

In collaboration with Kelsey Graham, a former postdoctoral researcher who is now with the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service, the researchers examined 15 years of data on wild bees visiting blueberry fields.

The bees were collected using brightly colored bowls of soapy water located at 15 farms across southwest Michigan. 

Bee species vary in the time of the year they are active and have different host plants. They nest either in the ground or in the stems of plants.

The study was focused on specific samples of wild bees who were active during May to June and visited blueberry bushes while they were blooming. 

An unusually warm spring and hot summer in 2012 provided the researchers with an opportunity to examine how bee populations responded to the extreme weather in subsequent years.

"The very advanced spring in 2012 was so unique, and flowers were open when the frosts came in April and May," said Professor Isaacs. "This wasn't what we were trying to study but this helps explain the patterns we found."

Overall, the study involved 162 of the 465 wild bee species in Michigan from 2004 to 2018. The researchers found that the extreme temperatures of 2012 led to a 61 percent decline in the number of bees between the first and second sampling periods.

Some bee species recovered, but others - such as the blueberry specialist bee, Andrena carolina - experienced a dramatic decline and slow recovery in the third sampling period.

"We also looked at the use of pesticides and found that the environmental affects had a bigger impact on the bee population," said Professor Isaacs. 

"We were fortunate to combine the work of three separate projects for this analysis. If you only look at the short periods of time, you might come to different conclusions, but long-term over multiple samples we can see the bigger trends."

The study findings emphasize the need to develop programs for monitoring wild bees across the United States in an effort to help preserve their valuable ecosystem services.

"Our data will contribute to the national efforts to understand how to protect these beautiful and essential insects," said Professor Isaacs.

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.journals.elsevier.com/agriculture-ecosystems-and-environment">Agriculture, Ecosystems &amp; Environment</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Wild bees struggle to recover after extreme weather events

Experts at Michigan State University have revealed how extreme weather...

Young male and female orangutans focus their social attention on different individuals to gain knowledge they can use later in life, according to a new study published by PLOS. Sex-specific social learning is needed to prepare the immature orangutans for adulthood. 

Young orangutans must acquire an extensive set of skills and knowledge through years of observational social learning, just like humans. There are notable behavioral differences between adult male and female orangutans, including sex-specific foraging patterns. In addition, males are far more solitary as adults compared to females. 

The researchers set out to investigate how the different life trajectories of adult orangutans relate to social interest and emerging ecological knowledge in juveniles. 

The team analyzed 15 years of detailed observational data, which included the social learning and dietary patterns of 50 immature orangutans in two wild Sumatran populations. 

Social interest was measured by the number of "peering events" directed at others, as well as the amount of time the juveniles spent in close proximity to others.

The study showed that young females direct most of their social attention toward their mothers, while young males prefer individuals other than their mothers. The experts report that by the end of the dependency period, females show a larger dietary overlap with their mothers than males. 

When it comes to individuals aside from their mothers, males are most interested in immigrants, and females prefer neighbors.

According to the researchers, it may be more beneficial for the females to focus on acquiring local knowledge and skills because they tend to stay in the areas where they were born and settle in the same home range as their mothers. 

By contrast, knowledge from immigrants could be relevant in the areas to which young males will eventually disperse. 

"In our study we showed that immature orangutans show sex specific attentional preferences when observing role models other than their mothers," said study lead author Dr. Caroline Schuppli of the Max-Planck Institute of Animal Behavior.

"Our results also provide evidence that these biases result in different learning outcomes and may thus be an important way for orangutans to learn sex-specific foraging patterns." 

"All in all, these results highlight the importance of fine-grained social inputs during development for orangutans - the least sociable of all ape species, and thus likely also for other primates."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/">PLOS Biology</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Sex-specific social learning patterns found in young orangutans

Young male and female orangutans focus their social attention on...

A new study led by the <a href="https://www.sydney.edu.au/">University of Sydney</a> has revealed how invasive <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/plants-have-a-memory-of-drought/">plants</a> are posing a new threat to critically endangered flying foxes on Christmas Island. The researchers found that introduced plant species reduce the nutritional value of the flying foxes' diets.  

The researchers collected and analyzed 125 native and non-native plant samples, representing the most common plants on which the Christmas Island flying fox feeds. The analysis showed that the nutritional content of the flying foxes' diets do not provide a balanced meal.

"Compared to native fruit, introduced fruit had significantly more carbohydrates but lower mineral concentrations," said study lead author Laura Pulscher from the Sydney School of Veterinary Science.

"Flying foxes may prefer to feed on introduced plants, as it makes it easier for them to meet their energy requirements in a shorter amount of time. They may also favor these plants as some - including papaya and Japanese cherry - fruit year-round on Christmas Island, when other food may be scarce. If this happens, flying foxes' nutritional requirements may not be met."

Pulscher explained that the flying foxes likely feed on fruit and nectar to meet their energy requirements, and pollen and native foliage like fig leaves to meet their protein and essential mineral needs. A diet that includes a variety of native food plants is nutritionally optimal.

The Christmas Island flying fox is critically endangered, with a population of just 3,800 individuals. This population has been dramatically reduced in recent decades as a result of human-induced habitat loss, invasive animal species, cadmium poisoning, and altered habitats.

When habitats are altered, they are often re-vegetated with introduced plant species like mango, banana, soursop, breadfruit, and Japanese cherry trees. The new study suggests that these introduced species may further threaten the survival of flying foxes by not meeting their nutritional needs. 

"Our findings suggest that preserving these animals' complex foraging habitats is key to their conservation," said Pulscher. "If they went extinct, not only would we lose a native mammal, but the local ecosystem would be devasted, as they are a key pollinator and seed disperser on the island."

The results of the study can be applied to all flying foxes, also known as fruit bats, that feed on native and introduced vegetation. 

"The study results also support the need to include analyses of animals' diets in conservation plans generally," said Pulscher. "Animals that could benefit from such analyses include endangered primates, like the Eastern lowland gorilla."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/">PLOS ONE</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Invasive plants threaten the survival of flying foxes

A new study led by the University of Sydney has...

Colorful,Butterfly

A team of researchers at <a href="https://www.ucl.ac.uk/">University College London</a> has found that tropical pollinators are more than 70 percent less abundant in areas with intensive agriculture compared to wild sites. The experts report that more sustainable agricultural practices are needed to prevent widespread losses of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/a-quarter-of-all-bees-no-longer-appear-in-public-records/">bees</a> and other valuable insects.

"Pollinating species are thought to be in decline globally due to combined pressures of habitat loss and climate change. Here, we found that pollinators in tropical regions are the most likely to decline as croplands continue to expand and intensify, and as animals in the tropics are also particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change," said study lead author Joe Millard.

The researchers set out to investigate the impact of various land-use types and intensities on pollinator biodiversity worldwide. The analysis was focused on 12,170 sites and 4,502 pollinating species, including insects, birds, and bats.

The study revealed that low levels of land use intensity appear to have beneficial effects for pollinators, even compared to natural vegetation. By contrast, the diversity of pollinator species suffered as the intensity of different land uses increased. 

In the tropics, species richness was reduced by 44 percent and total abundance of all pollinators combined decreased by 49 percent in high-intensity agricultural sites compared to natural vegetation. Furthermore, the overall abundance of tropical pollinators declined by at least 70 percent in high-intensity croplands.

"More than three quarters of globally important food crops are at least partly reliant on animal pollination, including nuts, berries, and fruits grown in tropical areas," said study senior author Dr. Tim Newbold.

"Croplands are expected to continue expanding rapidly in the tropics, which could pose a serious risk to local pollinators. As a result, we may see reduced yields of the many tropical crops that depend on animal pollination."

"Agricultural land management needs to take a long-term outlook to avoid harming pollinators. While maintaining wilderness spaces, so that not all land in a region is given over to human uses, is vital, agriculture can also be done more sustainably without reducing crop yields."

According to Dr. Newbold, this could mean planting different crops close together, using biocontrol agents instead of insecticides to control pests, planting hedgerows, or agroforestry. He added that consumers can also play their part by choosing more sustainably farmed products.

"Our finding that low intensity urban areas, like villages and green spaces, actually had greater pollinator biodiversity than wilderness areas, shows that urban areas can be good habitats for pollinators, with careful management," explained Millard. "Planting flowers in gardens, without using insecticides, can help out our local pollinators."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/ncomms/">Nature Communications</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Tropical pollinators are suffering from high-intensity agriculture

A team of researchers at University College London has found...

A new study from the <a href="https://www.ox.ac.uk/">University of Oxford</a> has revealed that, before they vanished from Earth, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/anteosaurus-was-a-killing-machine-millions-of-years-before-the-dinosaurs/">dinosaurs</a> were not the main competitors of modern mammals. The research indicates that distinct mammal groups were in greater competition with each other. 

"There were lots of exciting types of mammals in the time of dinosaurs that included gliding, swimming and burrowing species, but none of these mammals belonged to modern groups, they all come from earlier branches in the mammal tree." said study co-author Dr.  Elsa Panciroli, a researcher from the Oxford University Museum of Natural History. 

"These other kinds of mammals mostly became extinct at the same time as the non-avian dinosaurs, at which point modern mammals start to become larger, explore new diets and ways of life." 

"From our research it looks like before the extinction it was the earlier radiations of mammals that kept the modern mammals out of these exciting ecological roles by outcompeting them."

Most of the modern mammal species have origins in groups that expanded in a big way 66 million years ago, after a mass extinction wiped out non-avian dinosaurs. It has been widely assumed that mammals lived in the shadow of the dinosaurs prior to the extinction event. 

Mammals were thought to have been held back by the dinosaurs, remaining small and unspecialized in terms of diet and lifestyle. It appeared that mammals did not begin to thrive until the niches of dinosaurs were made available after the extinction. 

But now, the Oxford team has used new statistical methods to identify the evolutionary "limits" placed on different groups of mammals. The results suggest that closely related mammals were placing the biggest constraints on each other, and not the dinosaurs.

The researchers analyzed the anatomy of all the different mammals which lived alongside dinosaurs, including the ancestors of modern groups, also known as therians. The team examined how frequently new features appeared, such as changes in the size and shape of their teeth and bones, and the pattern and timing of their appearance before and after the mass extinction.

Based on the analysis, the researchers determined that modern mammals were more constrained during the time of the dinosaurs than their close relatives. In other words therians were being shut out of certain niches as their relatives explored larger body sizes, different diets, and new strategies such as climbing and gliding.

"This result makes very little sense if you assume that it was the dinosaurs constraining the therians," said Dr. Neil Brocklehurst, who led the research. "There is no reason why the dinosaurs would be selectively competing with just these mammals and allowing others to prosper. It instead appears that the therians were being held back by these other groups of mammals."

According to the experts, the extinction of other mammals helped the most to pave the way for the success of modern mammals.

"Most of the mammals that lived alongside the dinosaurs were less than 100g in body mass - that's smaller than any non-bird dinosaur. Therefore, these smallest mammals would probably not have been directly competing with dinosaurs," said study co-author Dr. Gemma Benevento.

Despite this, small mammals show diversity increases after the extinction which are just as profound as those seen in larger mammals, explained Dr. Benevento. 

"Palaeontology is undergoing a revolution. We have greatly expanded the toolkit available to analyse large datasets and directly test our ideas about evolution," said Dr. Brocklehurst. "Most studies of the mammal radiation have focused on how fast they evolved, but analysing what limits there were on the evolution provides new perspectives. We have had to rethink many of our theories using these state-of-the-art approaches."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/home">Current Biology</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Dinosaurs did not hold modern mammals back from evolving

A new study from the University of Oxford has revealed...

A new big data study from <a href="https://www.unsw.edu.au/">UNSW Sydney</a> has calculated that there are 50 billion birds in the world, which is about six birds for every <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/humans-and-livestock-create-the-perfect-storm-for-pandemics/">human</a>. By combining citizen scientist observations with detailed algorithms, the experts estimated the number of birds that belong to 9,700 different bird species worldwide.

The researchers found that many iconic Australian birds are numbered in the millions, including 19 million Rainbow Lorikeets and 10 moon Sulphur-crested Cockatoos. By contrast, the rare Black-breasted Buttonquail is down to around 100 individuals.

"Humans have spent a great deal of effort counting the members of our own species - all 7.8 billion of us," said study co-senior author Professor Will Cornwell. "This is the first comprehensive effort to count a suite of other species."

The study was focused on almost a billion bird sightings documented on eBird, an online database of bird observations from citizen scientists. The researchers developed an algorithm to analyze the data and estimate the global population of each species.

"While this study focuses on birds, our large-scale data integration approach could act as a blueprint for calculating species-specific abundances for other groups of animals," said study lead author Dr. Corey Callaghan.

"Quantifying the abundance of a species is a crucial first step in conservation. By properly counting what's out there, we learn what species might be vulnerable and can track how these patterns change over time - in other words, we can better understand our baselines."

The dataset included records for 92 percent of all existing bird species. The experts noted that it is unlikely the remaining 8 percent, which are extremely rare,  would have much impact on the estimate.

Four bird species belong to what the researchers call "the billion club," which are species with an estimated global population of over a billion. The House Sparrow came out on top with 1.6 billion individuals, followed by the European Starling, the Ring-billed Gull, and the Barn Swallow.

"It was surprising that only a few species dominate the total number of individual birds in the world," said Dr. Callaghan. "What is it about those species, evolutionarily, that has made them so hyper-successful?"

Overall, about 12 percent of bird species analyzed for the study have an estimated global population of less than 5,000, including the Chinese Crested Tern, Noisy Scrub-bird, and Invisible Rail.

"We'll be able to tell how these species are faring by repeating the study in five or 10 years," said Professor Cornwell. "If their population numbers are going down, it could be a real alarm bell for the health of our ecosystem."

The study was made possible with the help of more than 600,000 citizen scientists who recorded their sightings in the eBird dataset between 2010 and 2019. The eBird site is run by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, and the data is freely available.

"Large global citizen science databases such as eBird are revolutionising our ability to study macroecology," said Professor Cornwell. "This type of data simply wasn't available a decade ago."

The research is published in the <a href="https://www.pnas.org/">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Birds outnumber people six to one with a global population of 50 billion

A new big data study from UNSW Sydney has calculated...

Decades after the Griffon Vulture vanished from its <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/social-bonds-are-key-to-breeding-success-among-pelicans/">breeding</a> ground in the Eastern Balkan Mountains, the bird has made a remarkable return to the region, according to a study published by <a href="https://pensoft.net/">Pensoft</a>.  

Three local conservation organizations, including the <a href="https://www.rspb.org.uk/our-work/policy-insight/species/birds-of-prey-in-the-uk/why-should-we-protect-birds-of-prey/">Birds of Prey Protection Society</a>, have been working on a long-term restoration program to bring vultures back to their former breeding range in Bulgaria since 2009.

"The Griffon Vulture Gyps fulvus is a Western Palearctic cliff-nesting social obligate scavenger and one of the largest birds of prey in Europe. It used to be widespread and numerous in Bulgaria up to the 1940s, but became less frequently observed and likely became extinct as a breeding species around the 1970s," wrote the researchers.

"The Eastern Balkan Mountains and the area of the town of Kotel were amongst the last sites where breeding of the species was reported."

Between 2009 and 2020, a total of 153 Griffon Vultures were tagged and released from five sites in Bulgaria. The first successful reproduction was reported as early as 2016. 

By December of 2020, the local population had grown to more than 80 permanently present individuals, including about 25 breeding pairs and more than 30 chicks.

"Why vultures of all creatures? Because they were exterminated, yet provide an amazing service for people and healthy ecosystems," explained Elena Kmetova-Biro, initial project manager for the Green Balkans NGO.

According to the experts, many of the vultures were killed shortly after release  due to electrocution. 

"The birds predominantly forage on feeding sites, where the team provides dead domestic animals collected from local owners and slaughterhouses," said the researchers.

"We, however, consider the establishment phase of the reintroduction of Griffon Vulture in this particular site as successfully completed."

"The population is still dependent on conservation measures (supplementary feeding, isolation of dangerous power lines and accidental poisoning prevention), but the area of the Eastern Balkan Mountains can currently be regarded as a one of the only seven existing general areas for the species in the mainland Balkan Peninsula and one of the five which serve as population source sites."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://bdj.pensoft.net/">Biodiversity Data Journal</a>.

---

By Chrissy Sexton, Earth.com Staff Writer

Griffon Vultures have made a remarkable recovery in Bulgaria

Decades after the Griffon Vulture vanished from its breeding ground...

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



—–



Like what you saw and read?&nbsp;<a href="https://www.earth.com/subscribe/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Subscribe to our newsletter</a>&nbsp;for engaging articles, exclusive content, and the latest updates.



—–



Check us out on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.earth.com/author/eralls/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Eric Ralls</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.earth.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Earth.com</a>.



—–

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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



-----



Like what you read? <a href="https://www.earth.com/subscribe/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Subscribe to our newsletter</a> for engaging articles, exclusive content, and the latest updates.



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



-----

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.



-----



Like what you read? <a href="https://www.earth.com/subscribe/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Subscribe to our newsletter</a> for engaging articles, exclusive content, and the latest updates.



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



-----

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>



-----



Like what you read? <a href="https://www.earth.com/subscribe/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Subscribe to our newsletter</a> for engaging articles, exclusive content, and the latest updates.



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



-----

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.



-----



Like what you read? <a href="https://www.earth.com/subscribe/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Subscribe to our newsletter</a> for engaging articles, exclusive content, and the latest updates.



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by <a href="https://www.earth.com/author/eralls/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Eric Ralls</a> and Earth.com.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



-----

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>.



-----



Like what you read? <a href="https://www.earth.com/subscribe/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Subscribe to our newsletter</a> for engaging articles, exclusive content, and the latest updates.



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



-----

Wildlife tunnels save millions of amphibians

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Is chocolate the next nutritional powerhouse?

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

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



---



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="G9bUoxcjr4-2511624-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



---



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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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

<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;



---



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="LvS8v8bp9z-2564889-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



---



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

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

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



---



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="e4ZG0Jawp3-2374785-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



---



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="uV9Lh2fQbV-1760058-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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



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

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="qjvhBOBnY8-2426650-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="oL4FnPTGCV-2384527-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="0879czfG3k-1785905-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="6HyfrAJTBI-1831843-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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

Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="QIoVYJqRBi-2434608-12187" type="single"]</div>



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)



---



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...

News coming your way