Plants protect themselves. They often produce chemicals that discourage animals from feeding on them. For herbivores, survival means eating enough food while avoiding dangerous toxins. This delicate balance shapes how animals forage and adapt to their environment.



The challenge is not only about survival in the present moment. It is also about long-term adaptation. Animals that fail to strike this balance risk starvation or poisoning, while successful ones pass on their strategies to future generations. 



This ongoing evolutionary tug-of-war between plants and herbivores defines much of the natural world.



<a href="https://www.usu.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Utah State University</a> ecologist Sara Weinstein believes these choices reveal much about survival. “Understanding how these animals navigate these choices is fundamental to understanding what these creatures need to survive and how <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/woodrats-duplicated-their-genes-to-survive-eating-poisonous-plants/">species</a> respond to changing conditions."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-woodrats-and-toxic-plants">Woodrats and toxic plants</h2>



Among the many plant eaters, woodrats offer a surprising case study. Native to North America, these rodents consume a wide range of plants.



“Woodrats are remarkable in their ability to eat truly awful, toxic plants,” said Weinstein. “If there are no other options, woodrats can consume plants like creosote bush, mesquite and juniper, which are full of disagreeable compounds like alkaloids and terpenes.”



Weinstein and colleagues from several universities recently published findings from an eight-year survey of woodrat populations across North America.



“Woodrats are a phenomenal model organism for understanding how wild <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/humans-have-super-sized-domestic-animals-and-shrunk-wildlife/">animals</a> make choices about what to eat,” Weinstein explains. Their habitats provide varied food choices, allowing researchers to study how animals decide among safer or riskier plants.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-analyzing-the-diets-of-woodrats">Analyzing the diets of woodrats </h2>



Unlike city-dwelling rats, woodrats avoid people. "Woodrats are very distant cousins of the better known, and omnivorous, New York pizza rat,” Weinstein noted. “You are unlikely to see woodrats, unless you’re in relatively undeveloped habitat.”



Despite their shy nature, woodrats are widespread across the United States. Their abundance makes them excellent research subjects, especially since multiple <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ancient-survivors-dragonflies-face-their-toughest-test/">species</a> often share the same environment.



“Compared to large herbivores like deer, moose or elephants, woodrats are much easier to capture and handle,” said Weinstein. “They also readily provide us with material for diet analyses, because they tend to defecate in traps.”



These droppings become data-rich samples. Weinstein noted that each sample combines about a day of food choices. This allows scientists to capture a snapshot of their diets.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-patterns-in-herbivore-diets">Patterns in herbivore diets</h2>



Advancements in DNA metabarcoding, using next-generation sequencing, have transformed diet research. 



“It’s a very powerful and accessible technique to characterize the unseen,” Weinstein said. This method has helped reveal important patterns in how herbivores eat.



Despite progress, dietary niche breadth remains poorly understood. The research shows that both specialization and generalization carry costs for herbivores.



“A longstanding notion is that if you’re highly specific in what you eat - you only eat one thing - then, if you lose access to that plant - say, it disappears because the ecosystem changes or an invasive species pushes it out - you’re going to be in trouble,” said Weinstein.



Generalists adapt more easily, shifting diets when needed. Yet the story is more complex. Most woodrat populations are generalists, but at the individual level, these generalists’ diets may not be as broad as we previously assumed, explained Weinstein.



“We tend to think of generalists as being a jack-of-all-trades, master of none. However, it looks like most generalists are more aptly described as jacks-of-all trades, master of some.”



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



Individuals often select consistent subsets of plants, helping them manage risks from toxins. These findings matter beyond woodrats.



“Ultimately, these constraints on animal diets have important implications for our understanding of food webs, species interactions and which populations are more likely to persist in changing ecosystems,” said Weinstein.



The study highlights how much we still have to learn about herbivores. By tracing dietary strategies across individuals, populations, and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/not-just-birds-and-beetles-iridescence-found-in-unexpected-animals/">species</a>, scientists gain insight into resilience and vulnerability in a changing climate. 



In the end, the secret lives of woodrats remind us that even the smallest animals can unlock big lessons about survival.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2413556122" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>.



Image Credit: Sara Weinstein



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Woodrats reveal how herbivores survive eating toxic plants

Plants protect themselves. They often produce chemicals that discourage animals from feeding on them. For herbivores, survival means eating enough food while avoiding dangerous toxins. This delicate balance shapes how animals forage and adapt to their environment. The challenge is not only about survival in the present moment. It is also about long-term adaptation. Animals that fail to strike this balance risk starvation or poisoning, while successful ones pass on their strategies to future generations. This ongoing evolutionary tug-of-war between plants and herbivores defines much of the...

New AI software can recognize and track chimpanzees in the wild. Using more than 10 million images from <a href="https://www.pri.kyoto-u.ac.jp/">Kyoto University’s Primate Research Institute</a> (PRI), scientists at the <a href="http://www.ox.ac.uk/">University of Oxford</a> have just developed new artificial intelligence software that can recognize and track the faces of chimpanzees in the wild. 

These images from a video archive of wild <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/chimpanzees-hunting-eating-crabs/">chimpanzees</a> in Guinea, West Africa were used to develop what is now the first software to continuously track and recognize individuals in a wide range of poses. The AI is even able to do this in difficult conditions such as low lighting, poor image quality, and motion blur.

“For species like chimpanzees, which have complex social lives and live for many years, getting snapshots of their behavior from short-term field research can only tell us so much,” explains Dan Schofield, a researcher and DPhil student at Oxford University's Primate Models Lab, School of Anthropology. “By harnessing the power of machine learning to unlock large video archives, it makes it feasible to measure behavior over the long term, for example observing how the social interactions of a group change over several generations.”

This new software will help wildlife conservationists save time and resources currently spent analyzing video footage. 

“Our method differs from previous primate face recognition software in that it can be applied to raw video footage with limited manual intervention or pre-processing, saving hours of time and resources,” says Arsha Nagrani, co-author of the study and DPhil student at the Department of Engineering Science, University of Oxford.

Detailed in a paper published in <a href="https://advances.sciencemag.org/">Science Advances</a>, this new technology – while it focuses on chimpanzees – can potentially be applied to monitoring other species as well. 

“All our software is available open-source for the research community,” says Nagrani. “We hope that this will help researchers across other parts of the world apply the same cutting-edge techniques to their unique animal data sets.”

As climate change and human interference threaten many species around the world, technology-driven conservation is a much-needed development in the fight to save these ecosystems. 

“With an increasing biodiversity crisis and many of the world’s ecosystems under threat, the ability to closely monitor different species and populations using automated systems will be crucial for conservation efforts, as well as animal behavior research,” says Schofield. “Interdisciplinary collaborations like this have huge potential to make an impact, by finding novel solutions for old problems, and asking biological questions which were previously not feasible on a large scale.”

--

By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Shutterstock/Sergey Uryadnikov

New AI software can recognize and track chimpanzees in the wild

New AI software can recognize and track chimpanzees in the...

Scientists have discovered what may be one of the first trails made by animals on the Earth’s surface about 550 million years ago. 

These ancient fossilized trails are some of the most convincing evidence to show that ancient animals had mobility about a half-billion years ago — before the dinosaur age and the Pangea supercontinent.

Both the trail and the fossilized creature who made it, dubbed Yilingia spiciformis (which translates to Yiling bug), were unearthed from multiple layers of rock near the city of Yiling in <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/china-co2-emissions-targets/">China</a>. 

They were discovered by Shuhai Xiao, a professor of geosciences with the <a href="https://www.science.vt.edu/">Virginia Tech College of Science</a>, and his colleagues from the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ <a href="http://english.nigpas.cas.cn/">Nanjing Institute of Geology and Paleontology</a>.

"This discovery shows that segmented and mobile animals evolved by 550 million years ago," Xiao said. "Mobility made it possible for animals to make an unmistakable footprint on Earth, both literally and metaphorically. Those are the kind of features you find in a group of animals called bilaterans. This group includes us humans and most animals. Animals and particularly humans are movers and shakers on Earth. Their ability to shape the face of the planet is ultimately tied to the origin of animal motility."

Yilinia spiciformis was a millipede-like animal, about a quarter inch to an inch wide and about 4 inches long. It would move by dragging its body across the ocean floor, resting along the way, and thus leaving a trail as long as about 23 inches. 

What’s more is that this discovery places the evolution of bilaterians (symmetric animals with segmented bodies and directional mobility) exactly where scientists estimated it to be — between 635 and 539 million years ago. 

"We are the most impactful animal on Earth," Xiao said. "We make a huge footprint, not only from locomotion, but in many other and more impactful activities related to our ability to move. When and how animal locomotion evolved defines an important geological and evolutionary context of anthropogenic impact on the surface of the Earth."

This discovery is published in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-019-1522-7">Nature</a>.

--

By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Virginia Tech College of Science

550 million-year-old animal trail fossil discovered in China

Scientists have discovered what may be one of the first...

According to a new study from the <a href="https://www.rvc.ac.uk/">Royal Veterinary College</a> (RVC), fewer people are adopting West Highland White Terriers across the UK. Ownership of "Westies" has dropped by 25 percent over the last decade, and the researchers explained that the latest social media obsession with <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/genetic-mutation-breathing-problems-dogs/">"flat-faced" dogs</a> is largely to blame. 

The investigation, which was carried out by experts in the RVC’s VetCompass program, was focused on the veterinary clinic records of over 900,000 Westies who received care in 2016 in the UK. The study revealed that Westies comprised only 0.43 percent of puppies born in 2015 compared with 1.69 percent of puppies born in 2004. 

"With the ascent of social media as a dominant influencer of public opinion, ownership preferences for dog breeds are becoming increasingly polarized and susceptible to the whims of internet celebrity endorsements and advertising," said lead author Dr. Dan O’Neill.

"Previously, preferences for dog breeds used to wax and wane gently over time. But VetCompass breed data now show rapid changes in preferences among breeds that create bubbles and troughs of demand that can have far-reaching implications for these breeds."

"Flat-faced breeds are currently the darling of the nation but this has created huge welfare problems for breeds such as the Pug and French Bulldog. And breeds such as the West Highland White Terrier and Cavalier King Charles have fallen sharply out of favor."

The average age of the Westies analyzed for the study was a “relatively elderly” 7.8 years, which suggests that Westies have become an aging population with fewer new puppies compared to other breeds.

"The Kennel Club has certainly seen fewer West Highland White Terrier puppies being registered each year as this historic breed seems to continue to fall out of favor. However, we’re pleased this study indicates that Westies don’t appear to suffer from a high prevalence of specific diseases, other than those which appear to be fairly common for all dogs," said Bill Lambert, who is the senior health and welfare manager at the Kennel Club.

"Sadly this contrasts with many of the increasingly popular breeds, like French Bulldogs, Bulldogs and Pugs, which are often being bred indiscriminately to match the soaring demand leading to some serious health and welfare issues. This underlines just how important it is for puppy buyers to do thorough research and go to a responsible breeder.”

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Shutterstock/Dora Zett

Bulldogs have grown more popular than terriers in the UK due to social media

According to a new study from the Royal Veterinary College...

Birds have specific warning calls they can use to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/traffic-noise-prevents-birds-hearing-danger-alerts/">communicate with their neighbors</a> when danger is present, but not all bird chatter is meant to warn against a predator threat. 

In a new study, researchers from <a href="https://www.oberlin.edu/">Oberlin College</a> found that squirrels take their cues from birds by listening in on bird conversations.

Many birds emit non-alarm calls which can signal that the predator threat is low and that it’s safe to resume normal activities like foraging for food. 

Eastern gray squirrels and small birds share many of the same predators, and it would make sense for squirrels to take note of nearby bird calls as a signal that the coast is clear. 

Eavesdropping on birds might provide an advantage for squirrels, the researchers hypothesized. 

To test this, the researchers first observed 54 gray squirrels in parks and residential areas in Ohio. The researchers played a recording of a red-tailed hawk call which hunts both squirrels and small birds to see how the squirrels respond to a direct threat. 

[caption id="attachment_1877378" align="aligncenter" width="650"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/listening-squirrel.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1877378" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/listening-squirrel.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="864" /></a> Image Credit: Emma C. Lucore, Marie V. Lilly[/caption]

Next, the researchers played recordings of songbird chatter and monitored the squirrel responses. Not surprisingly, upon hearing the hawk call, the squirrels ran away, froze, or looked up for signs of danger. 

However, after hearing the recordings of the non-alarm bird chatter, the squirrels quickly went back to their normal activities. 

When compared to squirrels that listened to a recording of ambient noise, the squirrels that listened to bird chatter resumed their normal activities and watchfulness much faster after hearing the hawk call. 

The results indicate that squirrels do take their cues from birds and can listen in on conversations as a safety measure. 

“We knew that squirrels eavesdropped on the alarm calls of some bird species, but we were excited to find that they also eavesdrop on non-alarm sounds that indicate the birds feel relatively safe,” the researchers said. “Perhaps in some circumstances, cues of safety could be as important as cues of danger.”

The study was published in the journal <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0221279">PLOS ONE</a>.<a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0221279"> </a>

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette,</a> <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Main Image Credit: Shutterstock/Anya Julia

Squirrels eavesdrop on bird chatter as a safety measure

Birds have specific warning calls they can use to communicate...

Many people know that gorillas can use sticks to collect and eat termites. As we have reported, chimpanzees have been recorded making ‘<a href="http://www.earth.com/news/chimpanzees-drinking-sticks/">drinking sticks</a>’ by chewing wood to make it absorbent before dipping it into water. Other primates, including monkeys have been using stone tools for at least a few thousand years. These are all fascinating insights into how some of our relatives think and manipulate the world around them. 

These examples are widely spread in the media partially because they’re interesting but also partly because they allow us as humans to reinforce our own homocentric worldview. It’s obvious to many that other primates use tools, even if they’re relatively crude and easy to fashion. But further from the limelight, there are examples of other animals bearing little resemblance to us who also use tools in surprising ways.

It’s easy to miss a crocodilian floating in a pond, swamp or river. The large reptiles are usually incredibly still, their success at hunting dependent on a cold-blooded patience. A quick glance may fail to distinguish between a clump of algae, a submerged log, and a snout full of deadly teeth hidden in dark water. An American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) lying motionless with sticks on it’s head doesn’t seem very surprising. What is surprising is the subtlety of the alligator lying in the water with sticks covering its snout. 

Vladimir Dinets, et. Al, published <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03949370.2013.858276">research</a> pointing out an interesting correlation between two crocodilians, alligators and mugger crocodiles (Crocodylus palustris), sticks and nesting birds. As you might expect, it’s not wise for a bird to collect sticks off the snout of an alligator laying in wait, although sometimes birds like egrets seem to be in a rush to make nests and mistakes are made. Inevitably, birds that collect sticks from the snouts of alligators or crocodiles are snatched up as quick meals by the speedy reptiles. 

The really interesting thing is that the alligators at least seem to understand when birds are nesting. The behavior is timed to coincide with nesting time when sometimes alligators will be found lying just beneath sticks hidden in the water below heron and egret colonies. At times of year when the birds aren’t collecting sticks for their nests, the behavior seems to stop. Crocodilians seem to be deliberately using sticks to lure the birds to them. This is the first reliable account of reptiles using tools. Using hunting lures is a very rare example of tool use in non-humans indeed, but it’s not the only surprising example.

Cephalopods are smart. An octopus named Otto, living in an aquarium in Germany, made news by squirting a jet of water at a light that annoyed him, causing it to short and turn off, <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/3328480/Otto-the-octopus-wrecks-havoc.html">The Telegraph</a> reported. The octopus was also found to juggle hermit crabs and throw rocks at the glass in his tank.

Cuttlefish are known to show cunning as well. Cuttlefish are well known for their ability to change the color and patterns on their bodies, almost instantaneously. The ability to change color patterns is used for camouflage but also for communication. Male cuttlefish have been observed using half their bodies to try and entice a female in with a mating display while displaying a different non-threatening display that makes him look female towards rival males on the other side. 

<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/mar/28/alien-intelligence-the-extraordinary-minds-of-octopuses-and-other-cephalopods">The Guardian</a> reports that there are many more instances of cephalopod intelligence. Some octopuses have been taught to release food by pulling a lever. More interesting, though, are the things that octopuses learn on their own. Observers have watched as an octopus hid itself in a coconut shell, some octopuses guard the entrance to their den by stacking rocks. These last two are clear examples of animals using tools. 

Birds such as crows and ravens in the Corvid family are famous for their intelligence. <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2019/02/new-caledonian-crows-plan-ahead-with-tools/">National Geographic</a> reports that New Caledonian Crows (Corvus moneduloides) use sticks and stones as tools. The birds have been seen using sticks to pull out grubs and dropping rocks in containers of water to raise to level of the liquid. Like octopuses, crows in captivity have been able to learn complex puzzles and games for food as a reward. <a href="https://www.audubon.org/news/did-crows-actually-make-these-gifts-human-who-feeds-them?ms=digital-eng-email-ea-x-engagement_20190603_crows-make-gifts_medium&amp;utm_source=ea&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=engagement_20190603_crows-make-gifts&amp;utm_content=medium">Audubon</a> reports that there is anecdotal evidence of crows leaving ‘gifts’ behind for people who feed them. People sometimes find keys, or candy hearts or other objects apparently left by crows at bird feeders. 

It’s possible that these are examples of the birds giving something in exchange for food but it’s also possible that crows learned that leaving things behind excited people who then leave them more food. Recently a man found pull tabs, like those on soda and beer cans, threaded through pine branches near his feeder, claiming that it was an example of not only a crow gift but of art made by crows. It’s hard to substantiate an individual claim like this one but experts aren’t yet willing to say crows didn’t do it. Either way, it’s clear that corvids are capable of making such ‘artifacts’ whatever their purpose. When you start to look closely, there are examples of animals using tools everywhere.

Research published in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-39902-y">Scientific Reports</a> shows that otters use rocks to crack open mussels to eat, and there’s even an archaeological record of these rocks used by otters left in the ocean. Elephants are well known as being intelligent, so it’s no surprise that they use tools sometimes. <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-science-is-in-elephants-are-even-smarter-than-we-realized-video/">Scientific American</a> reports that elephants have been observed moving objects to use as ‘step stools’ to reach food. Elephants also use sticks to shoo away flies and to scratch themselves. Other animals further from humans also use tools in their own way. Leaf cutter ants harvest pieces of plant on which they grow a fungus that they eat, a rare case of an insect agriculturalist. 

The closer we look at other life on Earth, the more we see that our own prejudices might be blinding us to the reality of other minds.          

--

By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

Image Credit:Shutterstock/Chuck Wagner

It’s not just primates - other animals also use tools in surprising ways

Many people know that gorillas can use sticks to collect...

Great white sharks have yet to make an appearance this year in their usual hunting grounds off the coast of Cape Town, South Africa. Experts are working to understand whether the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/great-white-sharks-orcas/">sharks</a> have vanished from False Bay as a result of environmental pressures or if they are simply dodging the killer whales in the region. 

Marian Nieuwoudt is a member of the Cape Town City Mayoral Committee for Spatial Planning and Environment.

"There have been no traces of bite marks from great whites on any of the whale carcasses the City had removed from False bay this year which usually indicates their feeding patterns," said Nieuwoudt. "To our knowledge the absence of great white's from False Bay has not been recorded before and we are at a loss at present as to why they have suddenly gone AWOL."

An average of 205 great whites were spotted between 2010 and 2016 in this part of the Atlantic Ocean, but that number dropped to 50 by 2018. This year, there have been no sightings or evidence of great whites in False Bay, which is a region that is well-known for shark activity. 

Shark Spotters, a local charity that monitors the city’s beaches to warn swimmers of nearby sharks, has not detected a single great white shark in 2019. During the summer months from January to April, the sharks can usually be seen close to the shore. 

Shark Spotters CEO Sarah Waries said the sharks have likely moved further up the east coast.

"There seems to be a shift eastwards, so that is why there has been an increase in activity in the Mossel Bay and Algoa Bay area. So it could be for some reasons whether its orcas or environmental conditions the sharks have appeared to have moved further up the east coast and not use the False Bay area," said Waries. 

Orcas, which are the only natural predators of the great white, are known to hunt down the sharks and eat their fatty livers. Since 2015, the presence of great whites has dropped significantly in False Bay after two orcas arrived and began feeding on a local colony of sevengill sharks. 

Sara Andreotti, a marine biologist at Stellenbosch University, emphasized that pollution and overfishing are likely contributing to the disappearance of great whites as well. "My worry is that the focus on the orcas is distracting the attention from problems that humans could solve."

Beyond the fact that shark tourism helps raise money for conservation, the absence of great whites could have resounding effects on the entire ecosystem. 

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Shutterstock/Sergey Uryadnikov

Great white sharks are suddenly absent from their hunting grounds off Cape Town

Great white sharks have yet to make an appearance this...

In a project funded by <a href="https://www.nato.int/science/">NATO Science for Peace and Security</a>, experts are training bees to locate explosives, radioactive metals, and drugs. Under some circumstances, the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/world-without-bees-food-shortages/">bees</a> will be more useful than sniffer dogs because they can work longer with less financial investment. 

Dr. Ross Gillanders, a senior researcher at the University of St Andrews, helped develop equipment that detects whether the bees return to the hive with tiny traces of explosives. During early trials in Croatia, drones were used to locate the source of any small traces picked up by the bees.

The bees are trained to form an association between the scent of explosives and sugar water. This allows the bees to pick up on the scent of explosives, which they believe is nectar, from a distance of up to two kilometers. 

According to Dr. Gillanders, once the bees are trained and released they immediately seek out the explosives.

"Basically we teach them by a version of reward like you do with dogs," said Dr Gillanders. "The bees fly out of their hive to go about their normal day to day job of finding pollen but instead of finding pollen they find explosives. It's the sugar syrup, which draws them out."

"However, after three days the bees realise that they aren't getting reward from the TNT and as a result are disinterested in it and look for other things." At this point, the bees must be re-trained to find explosives. 

In Croatia, real-world tests using honeybees from local hives began in 2017. Dr. Gillanders confirmed the bees found abandoned land mines and other explosives lost during The Croatian War of Independence, which was was fought from 1991 to 1995.

In the United States, bees were previously conditioned to detect explosives in vehicles at checkpoints. Researchers at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico trained honeybees to stick out their proboscis, the tube they use to feed on nectar, when explosives were detected. 

In 2015, researchers at the University of Cologne proposed that bees could eventually replace dogs for drug detection at airports. 

The results in Croatia suggest that honeybees could help to clear millions of abandoned mines around the world that put thousands of lives at risk.

According to oneybees will be ready for deployment searching out the mines in between five and ten years and have already been trained to identify other dangerous or illicit materials.

The study is published in the <a href="https://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/bul/">Psychological Bulletin</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Shutterstock/SorasakPhotoDreams

Scientists train sniffer bees to detect explosives and radioactive materials

In a project funded by NATO Science for Peace and...

The feeding habits of fruit flies provide more insight into human diets. Scientists at <a href="https://www.kyoto-u.ac.jp/en/">Kyoto University</a> have investigated the diverse diet of the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/fruit-fly-smell/">fruit fly</a>, Drosophila melanogaster. The team discovered that this diversity is tied to the fly's flexible response to carbohydrates, which provides new insight into how the human diet evolved.

Species such as humans and fruit flies are collectively known as "nutritional generalists" because we eat a wide variety of foods. Some genetic cousins of the fruit fly, however, are known as "nutritional specialists" because they require very specific plants for survival. The feeding habits of fruit flies provide more insight into human diets

The researchers set out to gain a better understanding of how organisms have such different feeding habits, even when they are genetically related.

"Uncovering the differences in the molecular mechanisms between nutritional generalists and specialists can help us understand how organisms adapt to variable nutritional environments," said the study authors. "In our investigation, we changed the nutrient balance in the food of different Drosophila species and compared their nutritional adaptability along with their transcriptional and metabolic responses."

The team evaluated whether larvae of generalists and specialists could adapt to three experimental diets that were high in protein, high in carbohydrates, or had a moderate mix of the two. The generalist flies, including the common fruit fly, were found to grow and thrive with all three diets. 

On the other hand, the larvae of specialists could not survive on a carbohydrate-rich diet. The researchers examined the nutritional composition of the fruits and flowers that are usually eaten by the specialists, and determined that they have low-carbohydrate profiles.  

The team theorized that the difference between the generalist and specialist flies resides in the genetic pathways that control their response to carbohydrates.

"A signaling pathway known as 'TGF-β/Activin signaling' regulates the body's response to carbohydrates. In the generalists, this pathway is quite flexible and maintains metabolic homeostasis under different diets. In fact, there are about 250 metabolic genes that are downregulated when their diet is carbohydrate-rich," explained the researchers. 

By contrast, the specialist flies expressed these genes at higher levels where they accumulated metabolites, which led to a lack of adaptation. When a gene in the TGF-β/Activin pathway named dawdle was disabled in the common fruit fly, the same lack of adaptation was observed. 

The findings suggest that generalists were constantly under pressure to retain carbohydrate-responsive systems throughout their evolution, while specialists must have been surrounded by low-carbohydrate environments.

"Considering that humans and flies share a number of genes and regulatory factors, we can begin to develop an interspecies comparative approach that provides an informative model system for addressing the genetic variability among humans in response to dietary intakes," concluded the researchers. 

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/cell-reports/home">Cell Reports</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Shutterstock/Claudia Evans

The feeding habits of fruit flies provide more insight into human diets

The feeding habits of fruit flies provide more insight into...

Most people aren’t huge fans of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/cockroaches-survive-anything/">cockroaches</a>. And they’re certainly not a box office draw for all except the most devoted and stoic of entomologists. Nonetheless, Madagascar’s most notable silver screen export is in fact a roach. They’re the ultimate stand-ins. 

The enormous hissing cockroach (Gromphadorhina portentosa) is frequently used as an onscreen substitute for the more-skittery and less-tractable American and German species that infest our homes. They can gather some speed themselves, but they’re nowhere near as zippy as the ones that scamper under our refrigerators when the lights are turned on. In fact, they’ve become a popular, low-maintenance exotic pet and educational animal. 

Easily acclimated to human handling, they’re the perfect doubles for our more-pedestrian household pests, which of course are used onscreen to indicate squalor or, in the case of sci-fi films, to represent the true form of menacing bug-people. The next time you see a roach in your favorite TV show, take a closer look, if you can bear it: it’s mostly likely a Madagascar hisser.

In the forests of the African island to which they are native, these roaches live under fallen logs and among leaf litter, where they feast on fallen fruit, decaying vegetation, and occasionally animal carcasses. Females show a preference for higher-protein items, according to <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/James_Carrel/publication/263614605_Sex-Specific_Food_Preferences_in_the_Madagascar_Hissing_Cockroach_Gromphadorhina_portentosa_Dictyoptera_Blaberidae/links/5459152c0cf2cf516483c9dd.pdf">one study</a>. 

The menacing hisses for which they are known serve a number of purposes. There is an alarm hiss that warns other roaches approaching lemurs, birds, and reptiles that might eat them, special courting and mating hisses, and a hiss issued by males who are vying for territory and females. Females and nymphs are only capable of the alarm hiss. 

While higher animals vocalize through the passage of air through their throats, most insects produce sound by stridulation (rubbing two body parts together) or vibration. Unusually, the terrifying hiss of Gromphadorhina is produced by passing air through modified spiracles, or breathing pores—making them more similar to vertebrates in this respect. Interestingly, these insects do not possess tympanums and instead hear through the subgenual organs in their legs. 

[caption id="attachment_1877293" align="aligncenter" width="650"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/hissing-cockroach.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1877293" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/hissing-cockroach.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="434" /></a> Hissing cockroach, Image Credit: Rod Waddington[/caption]

They don’t quite reach Gregor Samsa proportions but Madagascar hissing cockroaches typically range from 2-3 inches in length, making them among the largest of the roaches. The South American Megaloblatta longipennis and the Australian burrowing cockroach (Macropanesthia rhinoceros) both outsize it by about half an inch. Still, they’re intimidating to most who are even slightly entomophobic. With brownish-black armature and, in the case of males, pronotal horns that extend from the front segments of their bodies, they look like they’re ready to do damage. 

In fact, they are capable of little if any aggression toward any but their own species. (Owners report that the sharp spines on their legs can draw blood. But they don’t bite, spray, or otherwise defend themselves.) However, males do engage in some fairly impressive conflicts when vying for harems of females. Though these contests don’t appear to result in much physical harm to the combatants, they involve a good deal of hissing and ramming using their horns, a behavior reminiscent of larger animals such as deer and mountain goats. 

Dominance hierarchies are complex and likely result from a multitude of factors, including size. Larger males usually win, but interestingly, the strength of the hisses appears to <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Allen_Moore/publication/15640006_Genetic_aspects_of_communication_during_male-male_competition_in_the_Madagascar_hissing_cockroach_Honest_signalling_of_size/links/02e7e5149fdd515c71000000.pdf">correlate to genetic potential</a> rather than current size. As part of their contests, males also engage in “stilting” or extending their legs to their full lengths in order to appear larger and more intimidating. <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jonathan_Pruitt/publication/259633690_Boldness_is_influenced_by_sublethal_interactions_with_predators_and_is_associated_with_successful_harem_infiltration_in_Madagascar_hissing_cockroaches/links/0c96053375ab326989000000/Boldness-is-influenced-by-sublethal-interactions-with-predators-and-is-associated-with-successful-harem-infiltration-in-Madagascar-hissing-cockroaches.pdf">One fascinating study</a> found that predator exposure affected the boldness of subordinate males attempting to displace the dominant roaches in a group. Those who had faced more predatory risk (in this case, a scorpion) were less likely to attempt a coup.

The roaches live in loose groups of <a href="https://s3.amazonaws.com/academia.edu.documents/42807950/Patterns_of_aggregation_behaviour_in_six20160218-29012-8w8f2o.pdf">about 10 in the wild</a>, showing little tendency to aggregate in laboratory experiments. Captive colonies can, however, quickly become much larger. Unusually, the females are ovoviviparous, unlike many other cockroaches. Rather than depositing their ooetheca on a surface—a distressing sign of cockroach infestation familiar to any apartment dweller who has been afflicted by their presence—the females instead carry the case inside their bodies for around two months until anywhere from 20 to 60 nymphs emerge. These tiny versions of the adults mature in around seven months. 

Hissing cockroaches are host to a mutualistic species of mite, which is often viewed as a pest organism by pet owners. However, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01647954.2012.662248">it turns out</a> that these nasty-looking little critters actually aid the creatures in maintaining proper hygiene, assisting in the removal of food particles that might encourage fungal growth. This has important implications for husbandry: <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080317123243.htm">another study</a> found that a number of molds grow on the creatures and their feces, causing allergies in some people. So, allowing the mites to remain on their hosts may actually keep allergens down. 

Unfortunately, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1081120610607156">some people may be allergic</a> to proteins produced by the roaches themselves. So, the allergy-prone would do well to exercise caution when handling or otherwise interacting with the roaches. (Pest roaches like the American and German species are well-known to produce substances that exacerbate allergies, so this is no surprise.) They are, luckily, unable to colonize human habitations due to their specialized food and moisture requirements, though owners whose roaches have escaped report that they can survive in your average home for a <a href="http://arachnoboards.com/threads/madagascar-hissing-cockroach-escaped.298699/">surprisingly long time</a>.

In an appropriately sci-fi turn, these bizarre insects may have something to offer humanity aside from serving as a unique pet and boosting the market for Claritin. Attempts are underway to turn hissing cockroaches into so-called biobots—hybrid “living robots.” By electrically stimulating their antennae and cerci (essentially antennae protruding from the rear of the abdomen), <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0134348">researchers have been able to control</a> the paths that the roaches take. This may have applications in search-and-rescue missions where attempting to find survivors is logistically insurmountable. 

So, if you have the misfortune of being trapped beneath a collapsed building in a decade or so, don’t be surprised if the first friendly face you see is a roach wearing a camera and wiggling its antennae in your direction. 

--

By <a href="mailto:rtpallardy@gmail.com">Richard Pallardy</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

Main Image Credit: Joanne Goldby/Flickr

The enormous hissing cockroaches of Madagascar are gentle giants

Most people aren’t huge fans of cockroaches. And they’re certainly...

In French Guiana, Dyeing poison frogs ward off predators with their bold yellow stripes. This unique coloring signals <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthpedia-articles/what-makes-poison-dart-frogs-poisonous/">toxicity</a>, and there are many species in the animal kingdom that have evolved bright coloring as a warning. 

Alongside the yellow frogs, there are Dyeing poison frogs with white stripes, a much less vivid and bold warning color. 

Natural selection and evolution would suggest that the white coloring be weeded out in favor of the bolder yellow stripes, but a new study found that this is not the case. 

Researchers from the <a href="https://www.jyu.fi/en">University of Jyvaskylä</a> in Finland, the <a href="https://olemiss.edu/">University of Mississippi</a>, the <a href="http://www.cnrs.fr/">Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)</a> in France, and <a href="http://sites.jcu.edu/">John Carroll University </a>investigated how the two types of poisonous frogs can co-exist and flourish side-by-side.

Because the frogs with the white stripes have rare and weaker warning coloring, the researchers needed to find an explanation for why diversity beats the odds in this case. 

One factor in their survival is that predators first learned that yellow frogs are distasteful and poisonous and associate the same level of distastefulness to white frogs in the area. In other words, predators generalize what they know about one type of frog and apply it to the other kind of frog. 

Generalized learning has allowed for the two types of genetically distinct frogs to co-exist. 

With this study, the researchers were up against a challenge because they had to find a way to gauge a predator’s reaction to the frog’s toxicity or defense mechanism. 

“We faced the difficulty of not having an established method to quantify predator reaction to the chemical defenses,” said Dr. Bibiana Rojas, a member of the research team. “However, that difficulty turned into one of the biggest assets of our study, as we eventually succeeded at developing a method.” 

The researchers extracted toxins from the skin of Dyeing poison frogs and combined them with oats. By feeding the oats to the frog’s predators, the researchers could get a sense of how a predator chooses to spit out its prey based on distastefulness. 

“The biggest surprise came from the fact that the frogs [with] higher amount of toxins in their skin are not necessarily the ones that birds find most distasteful,” said Rojas. “This finding challenges previous assumptions that most toxic equals most unpalatable.” 

The researchers published their findings in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1901872116">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. </a>

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: University of Jyvaskyla

Poison frogs flourish even amongst stronger competitors

In French Guiana, Dyeing poison frogs ward off predators with...

“Greater scientific understanding of animals has and undeniably will continue to raise some of the most important questions for us today regarding the scope and nature of morality,” says Peter Woodford, an assistant professor at <a href="https://www.union.edu/">Union College</a> and coauthor of a new paper published in <a href="https://www.aibs.org/bioscience/">BioScience</a>. 

The new paper is an effort by an interdisciplinary group of scientists and scholars who are currently urging animal behavior scientists to increase their involvement in the animal ethics conversation.

“While it is commonplace for animal behavior scientists to emphasize the conservation implications of their work, other broader impacts related to the moral standing of animals are emphasized relatively less in their public outreach,” explains coauthor Christine Webb, an animal behavior scientist at <a href="https://www.harvard.edu/">Harvard University</a>. “However, scientists have a social responsibility to proactively engage with the ethical debates that are informed by their evidence.”

Today, the moral status of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/working-with-animals-mental-health/">animals</a> is becoming an increasingly visible topic within both developed and developing nations. It has spurred change in the academic, political, and legal fields as research and further insight gives us a better understanding of our responsibilities for how we represent and understand nature. 

Despite this, fields such as animal behavior science have been less integrated in this paradigm shift, despite the growing evidence that has been linked with animal ethics arguments.

The authors state that a greater integration between animal ethics and behavior communities may be valuable for both ethical and pragmatic reasons. 

Elise Huchard, a behavioral ecologist at the <a href="https://www.umontpellier.fr/university-of-montpellier">University of Montpellier/CNRS</a> adds that further integrating science and philosophy “may encourage scientists to embark on new research about the nature of animal minds, question the anthropocentric legacy of behavioral studies, and enrich other aspects of their scientific practices through a more careful consideration of animal interests and subjectivity.”

--

By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Shutterstock/Mark Whiten

Scientists call for increased focus on animal ethics

“Greater scientific understanding of animals has and undeniably will continue...

Ancient rodent teeth help to map out Miocene mouse migration. Raquel López-Antoñanzas, from the <a href="http://www.isem.univ-montp2.fr/fr/">Institut des Sciences de l'Évolution</a> in Montpellier, France, and colleagues unearthed fossils of a new species of prehistoric murine — the mammalian group that includes mice, rats, and their kin — in Lebanon. 

These fossils are the first physical evidence that the first dispersal of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/young-mouse-blood-improved-memory-learning/">mice</a> from Asia to Africa took place via the Levant.

Archaeologists believe murinae, the largest subfamily of mammals, originated in southern Asia about 16 million years ago. However, the route and timing of the first murine dispersal has remained a mystery until now.

By analyzing the fossil’s teeth, which were excavated from the Lebanese site in 2013 and 2018, López-Antoñanzas and team were able to identify them as belonging to a previously unknown species. They named the new species, similar to the oldest populations of Progonomys known, which lived about 10.5 to 11 million years ago, Progonomys manolo (P. manolo).

P. manolo may be one of the earliest representatives of Progonomys, which was the first mouse to migrate out of southern Asia. In fact, researchers believe that P. manolo is most likely responsible for spreading Progonomys populations to Africa.

During the dental analysis of various Progonomys species, researchers saw how their teeth changed throughout the course of evolution with later species showing broader molars, suggesting a switch from an omnivorous diet to a herbivorous one during the shift from the moist middle Miocene era to the dry Late Miocene.

Finding the P. manolo fossil is a huge breakthrough for those studying the migration of the Progonomys, as it’s the first piece of evidence that the genus did, in fact, move through the Arabian Peninsula, therefore the “Levantine Corridor” is as important for mammal migration as researchers have believed it to be.

This new discovery is published in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-47894-y">Scientific Reports</a>.

--

By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Shutterstock/Rudmer Zwerver

Ancient rodent teeth help to map out Miocene mouse migration

Ancient rodent teeth help to map out Miocene mouse migration....

<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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https://youtu.be/Fi2OeEwuzRM?si=vTyd2m9FMmtyWkex
</div></figure>







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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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What to plant in your garden in mid-July

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

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

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https://youtu.be/XYgiPzmNBTU?si=eFYY7gPHU1JznLvU
</div></figure>



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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-----

Wildlife tunnels save millions of amphibians

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Is chocolate the next nutritional powerhouse?

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

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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

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



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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

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

<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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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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 



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Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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