Humans have long wondered why we seek each other’s company. From laughter in groups to quiet conversations, social behavior defines much of our daily lives. It turns out, this drive to connect may not be uniquely human at all. 



Honey <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/hidden-eye-sensors-help-bees-find-their-way-home/">bees</a>, buzzing inside their hives, show genetic patterns that echo our own. A new study suggests that some of the molecular roots of sociability stretch back hundreds of millions of years.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-social-differences-in-species">Social differences in species</h2>



Not every individual interacts the same way. In any society, whether <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/native-bee-species-face-extinction-due-to-honey-bee-competition/">insect</a> or human, some thrive on connection while others keep to themselves. These differences can arise from mood, past experiences, or status. Genetics also play a role, but the exact mechanisms remain poorly understood.



Researchers at the <a href="https://illinois.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign</a> sought to explore this mystery in honey bees, combining cutting-edge molecular techniques with detailed behavioral tracking. 



The study adds clarity to how social behaviors can emerge from shared evolutionary blueprints.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-social-lives-of-bees">Social lives of bees</h2>



The team studied western honey bees, attaching tiny barcodes to 357 individuals. Automated systems recorded their movements and behaviors inside observation hives. The scientists focused on a key social act called trophallaxis, where bees share nutritious liquid with nestmates. 



This act of food-sharing reflects social connectedness in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-create-pollen-replacing-food-for-honey-bees-bringing-survival-hope/">colonies</a>. Sequencing revealed 18 genetic variants tied to this behavior, several within two genes, neuroligin-2 and nmdar2. These genes resemble human ones linked to autism spectrum conditions, highlighting intriguing parallels between species. 



The discovery strengthens the view that certain behaviors may be deeply embedded in biology across evolutionary lines.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-genes-and-brain-activity">Genes and brain activity</h2>



The researchers also examined brain activity. Bees that engaged more with nestmates showed higher expression of more than 900 genes. 



This connection between behavior and brain biology highlights the depth of social <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/engineered-bee-diets-can-help-protect-global-food-security/">influences</a> at the molecular level. Additional analyses revealed that many of these genes were tied to neural signaling and synaptic function. 



In other words, the wiring of the brain directly supports how social tendencies emerge. This demonstrates how behavioral complexity is not only observed at the surface level but is tightly bound to internal molecular processes.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-shared-social-origins-in-bees">Shared social origins in bees</h2>



The study shows that humans and bees diverged over 600 million years ago, yet still retain similarities in genes related to sociability. The researchers suggest that these conserved features act as molecular anchors, shaping social life across distant species.



The experts argue that the repeated use of the same molecular pathways across evolution suggests an ancient toolkit for sociality that species can adapt in unique ways.



“It is a central feature of all societies that group members often engage with one another, but vary in their tendency to do so," noted the researchers.



"Combining automated monitoring of social interactions, DNA sequencing, and brain transcriptomics in honey bee colonies, we identified evolutionarily conserved molecular roots of sociability shared across phylogenetically distinct species, including humans."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-behavior-of-social-insects">Behavior of social insects</h2>



“Social insects are ideal for whole-colony behavioral tracking, and the technology is such that we can monitor what each bee is doing throughout the majority of her life,“ explained study lead author Ian Traniello.



“In this study, we sought to push things a step forward, thinking, ‘We can follow all of these animals, we know who they're socially engaging via food-sharing interactions, we know how they move and where they spend their time.'"



According to Traniello, honey bees offer a powerful model because their molecular toolkit continues to expand, enabling researchers to study behavior alongside genomic and neural patterns.



“The honey bee molecular toolkit is vast and growing, and we can also explore the structure of the genome or gene expression patterns within the brain as they relate to variation in social interactivity," said Tranielo.



"We asked: ‘How can we bring these technologies together, to ask general questions about the molecular underpinnings of social organization and test the hypothesis that some of these features might be conserved across species?’ And that's exactly what we did."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-bees-lasting-social-legacy">Bees’ lasting social legacy</h2>



This research highlights more than just bee behavior. It suggests that sociability, whether in a bustling hive or a human community, may be rooted in ancient genetic frameworks. 



Theories proposed in the study emphasize that evolution often reuses molecular strategies to solve similar challenges across life forms. In this case, it has shaped how groups organize, interact, and depend on one another. 



Such findings invite broader questions about how deeply genetics shape our social tendencies, and whether these ancient molecular roots still guide how humans build networks, friendships, and societies. 



By studying tiny pollinators, scientists are uncovering links that show how evolution has preserved the tools for social life across species separated by vast spans of time.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3003367" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">PLOS Biology</a>.



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Social lives of humans and bees linked by ancient genes

Humans have long wondered why we seek each other’s company. From laughter in groups to quiet conversations, social behavior defines much of our daily lives. It turns out, this drive to connect may not be uniquely human at all. Honey bees, buzzing inside their hives, show genetic patterns that echo our own. A new study suggests that some of the molecular roots of sociability stretch back hundreds of millions of years. Social differences in species Not every individual interacts the same way. In any society, whether insect...

In the late spring and summer, mature Chinook <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/why-are-alaskas-wild-salmon-getting-smaller/">salmon</a> return from the sea to the Columbia River and make their treacherous journey upstream to spawn. A new study from the <a href="https://www.washington.edu/">University of Washington</a> has revealed that when the salmon venture back to the river too early in the season, there are hungry California sea lions waiting for them. 

In collaboration with experts at NOAA Fisheries, the researchers found that sea lions have the largest negative effect on Chinook salmon that arrive early in the lower Columbia River. The sea lions have discovered that by swimming as far as 145 miles upstream, they can feast on migrating salmon.

Study lead author Mark Sorel is a doctoral student at the UW School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences.

"We investigated whether mortality rates varied depending on the specific threatened Chinook salmon population, determined by when they arrive in the river," said Sorel. "We found that, based on their individual return timing and the abundance of sea lions in the river when they return, individual populations experience different levels of sea lion-associated mortality."

The researchers determined that the rate of mortality among the earliest arriving populations of Chinook salmon was 20 percent higher compared to previous years. In addition, the rate of mortality among later arriving populations increased by ten percent. 

The higher mortality rates were associated with increased sea lion abundance in the period of 2013 to 2015, compared to the period of 2010 to 2012.

At the mouth of the Columbia River, the largest abundance of California sea lions can be found in early spring, before they leave the region to head for their breeding grounds in southern California. 

The study also revealed that the earliest arriving salmon migrate through the lower part of the Columbia River more slowly than those arriving later in the season, which increases the threat of exposure to predators.

"This information on how different populations are affected by sea-lion associated mortality is key because recovery of endangered Chinook salmon requires multiple of the individual populations to be healthy," said Sorel.

The Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 protected California sea lions from being killed, captured, or harassed. As a result, their numbers are quickly rebounding along the West Coast. The salmon populations that are hunted by the sea lions in the Columbia River are endangered, and experts warn that urgent action is needed. The hunting behaviors of sea lions are learned, which means the problem could continue to grow exponentially.

The National Marine Fisheries Service recently granted approval for Washington, Idaho, Oregon and several Pacific Northwest tribes to capture and euthanize problematic sea lions within a larger area of the lower Columbia and Willamette Rivers. This decision was made after non-lethal methods, such relocation, were not successful. 

"This is often a challenging management problem as both sea lions and salmon are of strong interest to the public, and both are protected under federal statutes," said Sorel. "Management must consider multiple social values and operate within existing legal frameworks."

The study is published in the <a href="https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/13652664">Journal of Applied Ecology</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Sea lions have mastered the timing to prey on Chinook salmon

In the late spring and summer, mature Chinook salmon return...

Researchers at the <a href="https://www.exeter.ac.uk/">University of Exeter</a> have found that the number of sea turtles along the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/elephants-are-vanishing-from-the-ivory-coast/">coastlines</a> of Ireland and the United Kingdom has declined in recent years. After analyzing records that dated back more than a century, the scientists were able to clearly confirm a recent drop in sea turtle sightings. 

The team looked at records from 1910 to 2018 and found that citizen scientists and other witnesses had documented seeing nearly 2,000 sea turtles - some of which were stranded or captured. 

The study showed that sightings increased dramatically in the 1980s and 1990s, which was likely due to an increase in the public's interest in conservation, as well as improved methods of surveying and reporting. Since 2000, however, the population numbers have mysteriously dropped.

"Lots of factors could affect the changing of numbers of sea turtles sighted," said study co-author Zara Botterell. "Climate change, prey availability and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill could all influence turtle numbers and behavior."

"However, sea turtle populations in the North Atlantic are largely stable or increasing, and the apparent decrease may represent reduced reporting rather than fewer turtles in our seas. One reason for this could be that fewer fishing boats are at sea now than in the past - and fishers are the most likely people to see and report turtles."

In Ireland and the UK, leatherbacks are the most common sea turtles. Leatherbacks made up 1,683 of the 1,997 sightings since 1910. They are thought to be the only sea turtle species that intentionally visits this region, arriving in summer in search of jellyfish.

Juvenile loggerheads and Kemp's ridley turtles are usually spotted in winter, after they are likely carried in on currents and stranded.

Overall, there are seven species of sea turtles, and most are rare in the UK and Ireland. For example, from 1980 to 2016, only 11 green turtles, one olive ridley, and one hawksbill were spotted in the region. 

The study was focused on information retrieved from the TURTLE database, which is operated by Marine Environmental Monitoring.

"We have been lucky to analyze this unique dataset that exists because Britain and Ireland are a real hotbed of engaged citizen science, where members of the public report their sightings in schemes supported by conservation charities and government bodies," said study co-author Professor Brendan Godley.

The study is published in the <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-the-marine-biological-association-of-the-united-kingdom">Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Sea turtles are mysteriously declining in Ireland and the UK

Researchers at the University of Exeter have found that the...

Mammals and birds became warm-blooded after surviving a mass extinction. Around 252 million years ago, a series of massive volcanic eruptions in Siberia triggered a mass <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/early-humans-were-likely-driven-to-extinction-by-climate-change/">extinction</a> event that wiped out 95 percent of all life. According to a new study from the <a href="https://www.bristol.ac.uk/">University of Bristol</a>, the Permian extinction also changed the surviving animals forever. Professor Mike Benton has found evidence that the ancestors of both mammals and birds became warm-blooded 250 million years ago, just as Earth was recovering from the catastrophic event.

Ancestors of mammals and birds, as well as tetrapods like synapsids and archosaurs, were some of the only groups that survived the Permian extinction. Even then, the animals faced life-threatening conditions such as repeated global warming and ocean acidification disasters.

Paleontologists have previously noticed signs of warm-bloodedness in animals that descended from the Permian period into the Triassic era, including evidence of a diaphragm and possible whiskers in the synapsids.

Warm-blooded, or endothermic, animals have fur, feathers, or hair for insulation. The early origin of feathers in dinosaur and bird ancestors has been established, and it has been long suspected that mammals had hair at the beginning of the Triassic. The current study has produced a brand new theory that archosaurs had feathers from 250 million years ago.

In 2009, the Bristol scientists began to suspect that warm-bloodedness originated in both synapsids and archosaurs at exactly the time after the Permian extinction. They have now determined that birds and mammals transformed at this time as well. 

Looking at hundreds of fossilized paths, the researchers discovered that tetrapods, mammals, and birds all shifted from sprawling to erect posture during the Permian-Triassic boundary. The experts were surprised to see that this posture shift happened instantly, not over tens of millions of years, as had been suggested.

"Modern amphibians and reptiles are sprawlers, holding their limbs partly sideways," said Professor Benton. "Birds and mammals have erect postures, with the limbs immediately below their bodies. This allows them to run faster, and especially further."

"There are great advantages in erect posture and warm-bloodedness, but the cost is that endotherms have to eat much more than cold-blooded animals just to fuel their inner temperature control."

Warm-blooded animals can live all over the planet, even in cold areas, and they remain active at night. The adaptations gave birds and mammals a new advantage over amphibians and reptiles that allowed them to dominate in more parts of the world. 

"The Triassic was a remarkable time in the history of life on Earth. You see birds and mammals everywhere on land today, whereas amphibians and reptiles are often quite hidden," said Professor Benton.

"This revolution in ecosystems was triggered by the independent origins of endothermy in birds and mammals, but until recently we didn't realise that these two events might have been coordinated."

"That happened because only a tiny number of species survived the Permian-Triassic mass extinction - who survived depended on intense competition in a tough world. Because a few of the survivors were already endothermic in a primitive way, all the others had to become endothermic to survive in the new fast-paced world."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.journals.elsevier.com/gondwana-research">Gondwana Research</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Mammals and birds became warm-blooded after surviving a mass extinction

Mammals and birds became warm-blooded after surviving a mass extinction....

Giant animals vanished from Madagascar after humans arrived. About 500 to 1,500 years ago, Madagascar lost nearly all of its <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/marine-megafauna-extinctions-will-compromise-critical-ecosystem-services/">megafauna</a>, including giant tortoises, Dodo birds, lemurs the size of gorillas, and 10-foot-tall elephant birds that weighed half a ton. While the exact cause of these extinctions remains a mystery, a new  study from the <a href="https://www.uibk.ac.at/index.html.en">University of Innsbruck</a> reports that human activities likely compounded the impacts of climate change when Madagascar's giant animals simultaneously disappeared.

Previous theories suggest that populations of the oversized wildlife collapsed under the strain of overhunting by humans or crashed when the climate abruptly changed. 

The Mascarene islands east of Madagascar are of particular interest to scientists because they are among the last islands on earth to be colonized by humans. The islands' megafauna crashed in just a couple of centuries following human settlement. 

In the current study, the international team of experts led by Innsbruck determined that the extinction event was caused by a "double whammy" of heightened human activities combined with an intense period of dry spells and megadroughts. The researchers ruled out climate change as being the sole cause of the collapse of the giant creatures, and found that the impact of human colonization was a crucial contributor.

Study lead author Hanying Li of Xi'an Jiaotong University and colleagues reconstructed a detailed record of the region's climate fluctuations. The new paleoclimate record was preserved in stalagmites that were collected from a cave on the tiny Mascarene island of Rodrigues - approximately 1,600 kilometers east of Madagascar. According to Professor Gayatri Kathayat, the island of Rodrigues is so remote and small that it cannot be found on most schoolbook atlases. 

"Variations in the geochemical signatures provided the information needed to reconstruct the region's rainfall patterns over the last 8,000 years. To analyze the stalagmites we used the stable isotope method in our lab at Innsbruck," explained Professor Christoph Spötl.

Study senior author Hai Cheng noted that despite the distance between the two islands, the summer rainfall at Rodrigues and Madagascar is influenced by the same global-wide tropical rain belt that oscillates north and south with the seasons. "And when this belt falters and stays further north of Rodrigues, droughts can strike the whole region from Madagascar to Rodrigues," said Cheng.

The study revealed that the region experienced a series of drying trends throughout the last 8,000 years, which were characterized by frequent megadroughts that lasted for decades. The most recent of these extreme spells struck the islands about 1,500 years ago, just as human presence increased throughout the region. 

The research sheds new light on the decimation of wildlife on Mauritius and Rodrigues. "Both islands were rapidly stripped of endemic species of vertebrates within two centuries of the initial human colonization, including the well-known flightless 'Dodo' bird from Mauritius and the saddle-backed 'Rodrigues giant tortoise' endemic to Rodrigues," explained study co-author Aurele Anquetil André.

"While we cannot say with 100 percent certainty whether human activity, such as overhunting or habitat destruction, was the proverbial last straw that broke the camel's back, our paleoclimate records make a strong case that the megafauna had survived through all the previous episodes of even greater aridity," said study co-author Ashish Sinha. "This resilience to past climate swings suggests that an additional stressor contributed to the elimination of the region's megafauna."

The study 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

Giant animals vanished from Madagascar after humans arrived

Giant animals vanished from Madagascar after humans arrived. About 500...

Social interactions are extremely important for maintaining positive mental <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/exercise-boosts-health-and-lifespan-regardless-of-intensity/">health</a>, and research shows that face-to-face encounters have a powerful effect on our happiness and sense of well-being. A new study published by <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/">Frontiers</a> has revealed that, like humans, cows prefer intimate communication with people. 

"The quality of the animal-human relationship and, consequently, the welfare of animals can be improved by gentle interactions such as stroking and talking," wrote the study authors. "The perception of different stimuli during these interactions likely plays a key role in their emotional experience, but studies are scarce."

For the current study, the researchers set out to investigate whether cows respond differently to the sound of recorded voices compared to direct communication from humans. 

"Cattle like stroking in combination with gentle talking," said Annika Lange of the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna. "In scientific contexts, a recording of a human voice speaking gently could be used to relax the animals, because it can be difficult to repeat the same phrases in the same way during experiments."

The investigation revealed that the cows were substantially more relaxed when they were spoken to by a human face-to-face, rather than through a loudspeaker.

"Our study suggests that live talking is more relaxing for our animals than a recording of a human voice," said Lange. "Interactions may be less positive when they become artificial through standardization."

The research, which was focused on a herd of 28 cattle, compared the benefits of either stroking the animals while playing a recording of an experimenter's voice, or stroking while speaking to the animals directly. The team monitored the responses and found that heart rate variability was higher when cattle were spoken to directly, which indicates that they were enjoying themselves. 

The heart rates of the cows dropped lower after the direct interactions than after they listened to voice recordings, showing that they were more relaxed after face-to-face communication.

"When relaxed and enjoying the interaction, the animals will often stretch out their necks as they do when they groom each other," said Lange. "Additionally, it is thought that ear positions may indicate mood: hanging ears and low ear positions appear to be linked to relaxation."

The study authors noted that the welfare of animals is strongly influenced by their perception and evaluation of the surrounding environment. "Humans constitute a substantial part of their environment, especially in farm animals. The way animals perceive humans and the quality of their interactions has a strong impact on their welfare," wrote the researchers.

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology">Frontiers in Psychology</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Cows are relaxed by face-to-face interactions with people

Social interactions are extremely important for maintaining positive mental health,...

Dogs have personality traits that change over time at their own rate, following a distinct <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/sleep-apnea-and-alzheimers-linked-to-identical-brain-damage/">age</a> trajectory, according to a study led by <a href="https://www.elte.hu/en/">Eötvös Loránd University</a> (ELTE). As humans get older, we become more emotionally stable, agreeable, and conscientious, while dogs have personalities that are not as well understood.

"Even though dog personality is a highly popular topic in the literature, there are still gaps about long-term stability, as well as about the dynamics of personality development," said study first author Borbála Turcsán. 

She explained that these dynamics include which personality traits remain consistent over several years, how much dogs actually change throughout their life, and at what age the most prominent personality changes occur.

To investigate, the researchers analyzed the personalities of more than 200 Border collies ranging from 6 months to 15 years old using a comprehensive test battery known as the Vienna Dog Personality Test (VIDOPET). Four years after the initial assessment, the experts tested many of the subjects again.

"Longitudinal studies covering multiple years and using the same method at both time points are very rare in dog literature," said study co-author Professor Friederike Range. "Following up the same dogs across ~4 years allowed us to address not only the question of personality stability, but also if there are individual differences in personality development, that is, if dogs with certain personality profiles change more than others."

The researchers found that dog personality has some stability, as the dogs ranked fairly consistently on all five personality traits across the study period. For example, the most active dogs remained the most active 4 years later. 

The study also showed that individuals with a more mature personality profile - including those that were less active, less curious, and more oriented to problems - did not exhibit changes in these traits compared to their peers.

To identify any age-related shifts in personality traits, the researchers compared dogs belonging to seven age groups. "We found that dogs' personality changes with age, and these changes occur unevenly during the dogs' life course, just like in humans," said study co-author Zsofia Viranyi.

"Crucially, however, the dynamics of change seem to be specific for each personality trait. For example, the problem orientation trait, which describes the dogs' attentiveness and ability to solve problems, changes largely during early life, increasing strongly until ~6 years of age, after which further changes became negligible."

"In contrast, the novelty seeking trait did not change markedly during the younger life stages, but ~3 years of age their curiosity about novel objects and situations started to decrease which continued until geriatric age."

The activity-independence of the dogs also decreased continuously over their lives, but the most pronounced shift in this trait occurred from puppyhood to adolescence. 

On the other hand, some traits did not noticeably evolve with age, such as the dogs' level of sociability or their tolerance for frustrating situations.

"By describing in detail the normative patterns of personality development throughout different life stages, our study can help in the identification of age-related impairments," said study co-author Eniko Kubinyi. "Dogs are already recognized as a natural model for human cognitive ageing, and our results suggest that similar rules govern the age-related changes in both human and dog personality."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/srep">Scientific Reports</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Dog personality traits change over time, but not at the same pace

Dogs have personality traits that change over time at their...

Forests in the southern Rocky Mountains have been ravaged by regional bark beetle outbreaks in recent decades. But now, in a surprising new study from <a href="https://www.colostate.edu/">Colorado State University</a>, experts have found some silver lining. The researchers discovered that life beneath the treetops has become more abundant as a result of the destructive bark beetle <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/snow-leopards-disease-epidemic/">epidemic</a>.

"Bark beetle outbreaks are a central factor driving large-scale changes in structure, function, and composition of forest landscapes in western North America and in temperate conifer forests globally," wrote the study authors. "The view of the general public and many ecosystem management practitioners holds that bark beetle outbreaks are associated with negative impacts on forest ecosystems and that control efforts should be implemented to improve forest health."

"However, recent work from European forest systems indicate that bark beetle outbreaks may enhance forest insect biodiversity with beneficial consequences for natural resource conservation."

The latest research suggests that bark beetle outbreaks create new habitats for wild pollinator communities. The experts found significant increases in wildflower and bee diversity in areas of forest that were impacted by bark beetles. 

Study lead author Professor Seth Davis said it may seem counterintuitive that landscape-level damage by one type of insect could still benefit another. "Disturbances from bark beetles are typically regarded as undesirable for ecosystem function and human use, but there is conservation value in post-outbreak forests; they appear to be the areas supporting more robust bee populations."

The bee species identified in the study are adapted to high elevations and are not found in warmer habitats. A greater presence of the bees is good news, as these and many other bee populations are in a state of decline.

In previous work conducted in high-elevation forests, Professor Davis noticed a correlation between the structure of the forest and the number and diversity of bees observed. He used his training in bark beetles to expand upon the bee diversity research.

"Disturbance studies on bees have primarily focused on fire," said Professor Davis. "There hasn't been a lot of research looking at bee responses to beetle outbreaks."

For the current study, the team collected and compared data in 28 sites in north-central Colorado, including areas affected by beetles as well as undisturbed regions. Tree measurements, plant data, and bee abundance and diversity were observed for two years at three different times across each growing season.

In beetle-affected sites, average floral abundance was 67 percent higher, and the number of bee species was 37 percent greater, compared to unaffected sites. 

"It appears there are different controls over bee abundance and diversity. Bee abundance was correlated to the floral species, while the diversity is more related to the forest structure, both of which are affected by bark beetles."

Professor Davis is interested in exploring this topic further to better understand the relationships on a larger scale. He is interested in seeing how long certain benefits last for wild pollinator communities as forests recover from bark beetle outbreaks. 

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/srep">Scientific Reports</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Destructive bark beetles create new habitats for wild bees

Forests in the southern Rocky Mountains have been ravaged by...

Plans to use a virus to control an invasive Australian carp will not work in the long term, according to researchers at the <a href="https://www.exeter.ac.uk/">University of Exeter</a> and the University of East Anglia. The non-native <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/invasive-crayfish-cannot-be-controlled-through-trapping/">fish</a> cause widespread environmental degradation, including impacts to water quality, that are damaging to native fish and ecosystems. 

The carp are highly adaptable and their numbers have exploded over the last few decades in the Murray-Darling Basin, which is one of Australia's largest freshwater supplies. 

According to the Department of Agriculture, Water, and the Environment, common carp now account for up to 90 percent of fish biomass in some areas of the basin. Scientists have recommended for the government to approve the release of Koi Herpesvirus (KHV) to help manage carp abundance. 

"The increased spread of carp and its impact on freshwater habitat has come at the expense of native fish species and aquatic vegetation," the Australian agency <a href="https://www.environment.gov.au/water/cewo/carp-murray-darling-basin">explained</a>. "The introduction of a biological control mechanism to tackle the pervasive carp problem will be an important complement to existing natural resource management and environmental watering programs that are helping to build the resilience of native fish populations."

The Exeter team acknowledges that common carp must be controlled, but says that releasing KHV is not the answer. The researchers found that common carp would evolve resistance to the virus and the population numbers would soon recover. "Based on our findings, we believe the plan to control Australia's carp with KHV is dead in the water."

"Viral biocontrol is highly questionable and, as our study shows, it is unlikely to reduce carp numbers in the long term," said Dr. Jackie Lighten. "Our modeling shows that even under the most optimal conditions for biocontrol, populations quickly recover."

"Releasing KHV carries significant risks to human and ecosystem health, which likely outweigh the benefits, and we have previously urged further detailed research to avoid an unnecessary ecological catastrophe."

Dr. Lighten previously argued in the Australian Senate that the country's National Carp Control Program (NCCP) was omitting key areas of research from its work, including an assessment of whether the virus could even kill the carp, who have a  genetic component of resistance to KHV.

"Modeling the epidemiology of proposed viral releases is essential for risk assessment and estimation of likely outcomes," said Dr. Katie Mintram. "We built a simulation model which allowed us to examine realistic interactions among carp, virus and disease resistance, to estimate how long it would take carp populations to recover even if 95% of them were wiped out."

"We show that the biological characteristics of the carp, including their rapid breeding rates, allow infected populations to recover rapidly with individuals that are KHV resistant."

Even in a simulation of the "best-case scenario" for the virus to eradicate carp, the population still evolved lasting resistance, and the virus became ineffective.

"We recommend that the Australian Government takes bold steps to significantly improve the health of its waterways, rather than releasing a potentially catastrophic virus into its ecosystems," said Dr. Lighten. "Freshwater is in desperate shortage in large parts of Australia, so the first step must be to reduce the amount of water extracted for thirsty crops such as cotton. This would help to restore habitat for native species, thereby reducing habitat for carp."

"Proper governance is what's needed, rather than giving an unhealthy and fragile ecosystem a foreign virus, which could significantly tip the balance out of favor for native species."

Dr. Lighten said that if the current Covid-19 pandemic has reminded us of anything, it's that viruses are hard to predict and manage.

"It is madness that the release of a high pathogenic virus is being considered as one of the first steps to restore a damaged and fragile ecosystem. This is even more so, considering that very little progress has been made in reducing the volume of water extracted from the Murray-Darling Basin, which should be primary in restoring river health over releasing a pathogen that could have significant ecological repercussions."

The study is published in the <a href="https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/13652664">Journal of Applied Ecology</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Releasing a virus is not the solution to Australia's invasive carp problem

Plans to use a virus to control an invasive Australian...

The removal of dairy cows from the United States would only make a small contribution to reducing greenhouse gas <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/covid-19-caused-an-unprecedented-drop-in-co2-emissions/">emissions</a> while detrimentally impacting the country's supply of essential nutrients. This is the conclusion of a recent study conducted by scientists at <a href="https://vt.edu/">Virginia Tech</a> and the U.S. Dairy Forage Research Center.

Dairy production has been linked to about 1.6 percent of the overall greenhouse gas emissions in the United States. At the same time, the dairy industry is responsible for supplying the protein requirements of 169 million people, the calcium requirements of 254 million people, as well as the energy requirements of 71.2 million people.

A growing collection of research has explored the potential for a shift away from animal products - and toward plant-based alternatives - to increase food production and reduce greenhouse gas emissions on a global scale. 

The current study investigated the effects of dairy product removal on emissions and nutrient availability in the United States under various removal scenarios, including depopulation, current management, and retirement. 

In the first scenario, consumers would stop using dairy products, resulting in the depopulation of the animals. Current management means that cattle management would remain the same and the milk would either be exported or used for products other than human food. Under the third condition, retirement, cattle would be reduced to numbers that could be supported by available pastureland.

Overall, the dairy cow removal scenarios reduced the availability of essential micronutrients such as vitamins A, D, B 12, and choline. At the same time, these conditions did not reduce harmful emissions relative to the current production system. 

"Land use was a focus in all animal removal scenarios because the assumptions surrounding how to use land made available if we remove dairy cattle greatly influence results of the simulations," said study lead author Dr. Robin R. White. 

"If dairy cattle are no longer present in U.S. agriculture, we must consider downstream effects such as handling of pasture and grain land previously used for producing dairy feed, disposition of byproduct feeds, and sourcing fertilizer."

The results of the study suggest that the removal of dairy cows from U.S. agriculture would only reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 0.7 percent, while substantially lowering the available supply of essential nutrients for the growing American population.

"Production of some essential nutrients, such as calcium and many vitamins, decreased under all reallocation scenarios that decreased greenhouse gas emissions, making the dairy removal scenarios suboptimal for feeding the U.S. population," said Professor White. 

The study is published in the <a href="https://www.journalofdairyscience.org/">Journal of Dairy Science</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Dairy cows contribute more to nutritional needs than to harmful emissions

The removal of dairy cows from the United States would...

Scientists at the <a href="https://www.port.ac.uk/">University of Portsmouth</a> have discovered a unique pterosaur that is unlike any other pterosaur species that has ever been described. The unusual creature was about the size of a turkey with a long, toothless <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/cross-mating-finches-exchanged-genes-and-beak-shape/">beak</a> that was slender. 

This beak was such an unexpected find that it was initially thought to be part of the fin spine of a fish. In collaboration with experts at the University of Bath, the Portsmouth team noticed the unusual texture of the bone, which is only seen only in pterosaurs. The scientists realized that they were looking at a piece of beak.

"We've never seen anything like this little pterosaur before. The bizarre shape of the beak was so unique, at first the fossils weren't recognized as a pterosaur," said study co-author Professor David Martill.

A detailed search of the site in Morocco where the beak was recovered produced additional fossils of the animal, which the team ultimately determined was a new species of pterosaur that is now known as Leptostomia begaaensis. 

"Just imagine how delighted I was, while on field work in Morocco, to discover the lower jaw to match the upper jaw found by Dr. Longrich of this utterly unique fossil animal," said study lead author and PhD student Roy Smith.

There are more than 100 known species of pterosaurs, which are winged reptiles related to dinosaurs. Pterosaurs are extremely diverse, ranging from groups as small as a sparrow to those as large as a fighter jet.

Leptostomia begaaensis used its beak to probe dirt and mud for hidden prey, hunting like present-day sandpipers in search of worms and crustaceans. 

"The pterosaurs were the first vertebrates to evolve powered flight and they staged a major radiation in the Cretaceous," wrote the study authors.

"Cretaceous pterosaurs occupied many of the niches occupied today by birds, including aerial insect hawkers, piscivores, and filter feeders. The diversity of this radiation remains poorly known due to the uneven stratigraphic and geographic distribution of pterosaur fossils." 

Professor Martill noted that the diets and hunting strategies of pterosaurs were also diverse, likely including meat, fish, and insects. He added that the giant 500-pound pterosaurs probably ate whatever they wanted.

"Some species hunted food on the wing, others stalked their prey on the ground. Now, the fragments of this remarkable little pterosaur show a lifestyle previously unknown for pterosaurs," said Professor Martill.

Using a computerized tomography (CT) scan, the scientists discovered an incredible network of internal canals for nerves that helped L. begaaensis detect prey underground.

"Leptostomia may actually have been a fairly common pterosaur, but it's so strange - people have probably been finding bits of this beast for years, but we didn't know what they were until now," said study co-author Dr Nick Longrich. He added that the new species shows how, more than a century after pterosaurs were first discovered, there is still so much to learn about them.

"We're underestimating pterosaur diversity because the fossil record gives us a biased picture. Pterosaur fossils typically preserve in watery settings - seas, lakes, and lagoons - because water carries sediments to bury bones," said Dr. Longrich.

"Pterosaurs flying over water to hunt for fish tend to fall in and die, so they're common as fossils. Pterosaurs hunting along the margins of the water will preserve more rarely, and many from inland habitats may never preserve as fossils at all."

"There's a similar pattern in birds. If all we had of birds was their fossils, we'd probably think that birds were mostly aquatic things like penguins, puffins, ducks and albatrosses. Even though they're a minority of the species, their fossil record is a lot better than for land birds like hummingbirds, hawks, and ostriches."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.journals.elsevier.com/cretaceous-research">Cretaceous Research</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

New species of pterosaur had a long, skinny beak for hunting

Scientists at the University of Portsmouth have discovered a unique...

In a new study published by <a href="https://plos.org/">PLOS</a>, experts have investigated the distribution and conservation status of forest elephants in the tropical West African country of Côte d’Ivoire, which translates in English to the "Ivory Coast." The researchers found that the remaining <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/african-forest-elephants-are-running-out-of-fruit/">elephant</a> populations are small and isolated, and that their chances of survival are uncertain. 

In precolonial times, Côte d'Ivoire was likely home to one of the largest elephant populations in West Africa, which is how the country earned its name. Recent estimates suggest that over the last several decades, the number of elephants in this region has dropped from more than 1,100 individuals to less than 360 today. 

The primary reason for the drastic decline of elephants on the Ivory Coast is habitat loss, as forests are cleared for agriculture. In addition, as populations become more isolated, they also become more vulnerable to poachers.

Prior to this investigation, the most recent assessment of Côte d'Ivoire elephants was at least a decade old. For the current study, a team led by Sery Gonedelé Bi analyzed dung counts, records of human-elephant conflicts, media reports, and survey data obtained from 2011 to 2017.

In the 25 protected areas that were surveyed, the presence of elephants was confirmed in only four areas, where elephant density was found to be low. More than half of the protected areas had been completely converted to farms and human settlements. 

The most well-preserved regions had a higher probability of hosting an elephant population. The presence of elephants could be predicted by human population size, habitat degradation, and the proportion of forest converted to cocoa plantation. 

"The large majority of the protected area of Côte d'Ivoire has lost its entire elephant populations as a consequence of the lack of conservation measures. Out of the 25 protected areas surveyed, forest elephants of Côte d'Ivoire are now confined into small populations in four protected areas," wrote the study authors.

"Aggressive conservation actions including law enforcement for the protection of their remaining habitat and ranger patrolling are needed to protect the remaining forest elephant populations."

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

Elephants are vanishing from the Ivory Coast

In a new study published by PLOS, experts have investigated...

In Europe, concerns are growing that American signal crayfish will wipe out other populations, including Britain's endangered white-clawed crayfish. A new study from <a href="https://www.ucl.ac.uk/">University College London</a> reveals that trapping the invasive animals is not helping to control them. 

The idea that "trapping to eat" American signal crayfish may control their numbers has caught on in recent decades. However, scientists are warning that this will inadvertently lead to the further spread of the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/new-species-assemblages-cause-local-extinctions/">species</a> - not to mention the trapping of protected native crayfish.

"Invasive signal crayfish from the US were introduced to England in the 1970s. Since then they have spread rapidly, displacing native crayfish, impacting fish and damaging ecosystems," said study co-author Eleri Pritchard.

"While celebrity chefs and conservation charities have, with good intentions, promoted trapping and foraging as a way to control American signal crayfish, our research shows trapping to be ineffective. We are also concerned that trapping risks spreading the fungal pathogen, called crayfish plague, which is lethal to native European crayfish."

The researchers found that trapping is also not effective in determining signal crayfish numbers, considering that most are too small to catch using standard baited traps.

The research was focused on surveying populations in an upland stream in North Yorkshire, UK. The experts set out to compare the effectiveness of three methods: baited funnel trapping, handsearching, and the triple drawdown technique, which involves draining a section of stream to calculate crayfish numbers. 

The study showed that the triple drawdown method was the best for determining the size of crayfish populations. Using this technique, the scientists estimated signal crayfish densities of up to 110 per square meter. This estimate far exceeds the numbers calculated in similar streams using traps.

The researchers discovered that only two percent of the individuals were big enough to be caught in standard traps. They explained that signal crayfish can become sexually mature before reaching a size large enough to be trapped.

"We now have strong data to show that trapping does not help to control invasive crayfish. On the contrary, there is growing evidence that trapping furthers the spread," said study co-author Paul Bradley.

"In the short-term, conservation efforts should re-focus on promotion of aquatic biosecurity, and in the longer-term we need further research to better understand the invasion biology of American signal crayfish. This will help to inform more effective and sustainable approaches to the management and control of this problematic invasive species."

The scientists strongly recommend that recreational trapping is stopped. They want to shift the focus to initiatives like the UK's national Check Clean Dry campaign, which is aimed at educating the public. 

"Signal crayfish have a devastating impact on our waters, harming fish populations, increasing economic costs for fisheries and causing a nuisance for anglers," said Dr. Emily Smith. 

"These findings present a new chapter in management practices, providing invaluable intelligence for fisheries and angling clubs, supporting them in refining practical solutions to controlling this highly aggressive species."

The study is published in the <a href="https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/13652664">Journal of Applied Ecology</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Invasive crayfish cannot be controlled through trapping

In Europe, concerns are growing that American signal crayfish will...

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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Worms dominated seas before dinosaurs

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



The full study was published in the journal Current Biology.



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Earth's oldest forest found in the United States

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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The environmental problem we actually solved

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

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

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</div></figure>







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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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What to plant in your garden in mid-July

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

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

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</div></figure>



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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-----

Wildlife tunnels save millions of amphibians

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Is chocolate the next nutritional powerhouse?

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

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

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

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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