Sometimes discoveries take centuries. In South Wales, a fossil jawbone collected in 1899 has finally revealed its secret. It sat quietly for more than a hundred years in the National Museum of Wales. Researchers wrote about it, but no one could say for sure what creature it came from.



Now, using modern technology, paleontologists at the <a href="https://www.bristol.ac.uk" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Bristol</a> have identified it as a new dinosaur species. They have given it a new name too: Newtonsaurus, honoring the man who first described it.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-newtonsaurus-a-distinctive-name">Newtonsaurus: A distinctive name </h2>



The fossil itself contains no bone. What remains are natural molds pressed into stone. At first glance, this seems disappointing. 



But those impressions preserved details invisible to the naked eye. With 3D scanning, the team brought the jawbone back to life in digital form.



“This specimen has been referred to many times in scientific papers but had yet to be successfully identified,” said study co-author Owain Evans. “It was named Zanclodon cambrensis by Edwin Tully Newton in 1899, but we knew the name Zanclodon had been abandoned because it referred to a broad variety of early <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/reptile-ancestors-appeared-40-million-years-earlier-than-we-thought/">reptiles</a>.”



“Therefore, we name it after Newton, calling it Newtonsaurus. It is different from all other dinosaurs from that time and requires a distinctive name.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-fossil-rebuilt-through-3d-scans">Fossil rebuilt through 3D scans</h2>



Creating the digital model required patience. The team photographed every angle of the molds, then combined the images into a 3D shape. 



By flipping the data, they produced a negative of the impressions, which gave them a digital version of the original jawbone.



“The natural molds of the inner and outer faces of the jawbone show amazing detail - every groove, ridge, tooth, and even the serrations along the edges of the teeth,” said Michael Benton, professor of vertebrate paleontology at the University of Bristol.



“We decided to use digital photography to make a 3D model. We began by surface scanning the fossil using photogrammetry. Once we had our digital scan, we inverted it - essentially giving us a digital negative of the mold.”



By fusing the sides and analyzing its anatomy, the digital reconstruction revealed a clearer picture of the bone’s original structure.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-predatory-flesh-eating-dinosaur">A predatory, flesh-eating dinosaur</h2>



Once reconstructed, the fossil’s features stood out clearly. The placement of the teeth and the jaw shape confirmed it belonged to a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ancient-footprints-reveal-a-dinosaur-that-changed-pace-while-walking/">theropod</a>. These were meat-eating dinosaurs, ancestors of later giants like Tyrannosaurus rex. 



The discovery proved that large predators prowled the Welsh coastline during the Triassic period.



“We can now confirm that this specimen very likely belonged to a large predatory theropod dinosaur that roamed the shores of South Wales during the latest Triassic,” said Evans.



“It has some definite unique dinosaur features in the emplacement of the teeth, and it is a theropod - a predatory, flesh-eating dinosaur. Otherwise, it sits near the origins of both major divisions of Theropoda, the Coelophysoidea and the Averostra.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-newtonsaurus-was-unusually-large">Newtonsaurus was unusually large</h2>



The<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ancient-fish-bones-reveal-clues-about-the-evolution-of-eating/"> jawbone</a> alone measured 28 centimeters (11 inches). But this was only the front half. The full bone stretched around 60 centimeters (24 inches).



That means the dinosaur’s body reached five to seven meters (16 to 23 feet) in length. For the Triassic, this was huge. Most theropods of the time were much smaller.



The preserved 28 cm (11 in) jawbone, once 60 cm (24 in) in life, reveals a large Triassic theropod - unexpectedly large for its kind.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Newtonsaurus_new-dinosaur-species_jawbone-fossil_1m.jpg"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Newtonsaurus_new-dinosaur-species_jawbone-fossil_1s.webp" alt="Using modern digital scanning techniques the researchers were able to shed new light on the fossil jawbone, which has been known since 1899 and been on display in the National Museum of Wales for many years. Credit: Owain Evans" class="wp-image-1985985"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Using modern digital scanning techniques the researchers were able to shed new light on the fossil jawbone, which has been known since 1899 and been on display in the National Museum of Wales for many years. Click image to enlarge. Credit: Owain Evans</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-discovery-adds-to-welsh-prehistory">Discovery adds to Welsh prehistory</h2>



For paleontologists, the discovery proves that museum collections still hold secrets. For Wales, it adds another important piece to its prehistoric record. The <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/triassic-fossils-shed-new-light-on-ancient-ecosystems/">Triassic</a> beds of the region are rare and globally significant.



“These historical specimens are vitally important in paleontology and often yield new and exciting results - even if they have been sitting in collections for years. The Victorians were fascinated by the fossil record and prospected all across the UK for fossils,” said Cindy Howells at the <a href="https://museum.wales/cardiff/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">National Museum of Wales</a>.



“On top of this, the re-description of Newtonsaurus cambrensis once again highlights the significance of Wales in paleontological research."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-wales-may-reveal-more-dinosaurs">Wales may reveal more dinosaurs</h2>



Triassic beds are rare worldwide, yet Wales holds several of them - each with the potential to reveal another hidden dinosaur.



Newtonsaurus is more than a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-rising-mountains-give-birth-to-new-species/">new species</a>. It proves that even old fossils can still surprise us, and that modern tools can finally solve questions that lingered for generations.



The find also reminds us that the cliffs and quarries of Wales may still conceal more giants waiting to emerge.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016787825000513?via%3Dihub" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Proceedings of the Geologists Association</a>.



Image Credit: Owain Evans



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Newtonsaurus: Forgotten dinosaur fossil reveals a giant Triassic predator

Sometimes discoveries take centuries. In South Wales, a fossil jawbone collected in 1899 has finally revealed its secret. It sat quietly for more than a hundred years in the National Museum of Wales. Researchers wrote about it, but no one could say for sure what creature it came from. Now, using modern technology, paleontologists at the University of Bristol have identified it as a new dinosaur species. They have given it a new name too: Newtonsaurus, honoring the man who first described it. Newtonsaurus: A distinctive name...

A new study from the <a href="http://global.oup.com/">Oxford University Press</a> is warning that some species of sparrows will vanish before the end of this century, as their natural habitats are wiped out. The seaside and saltmarsh sparrows both depend almost entirely on coastal salt marshes, yet their projected responses to <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/galapagos-iguanas-struggling-climate-change/">climate change</a> were found to be different.

Salt marshes cover only about 30,000 square miles worldwide, with one-third of them located along the coast of North America. Overall, 15 of the 25 species of sparrows that are limited to tidal wetlands are found solely on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States. These groups are particularly threatened by changing climatic conditions and other threats to salt marsh ecosystems.

The breeding range of the saltmarsh sparrow extends from Virginia to Maine, with a population of about 60,000 birds. As the sea levels rise, the amount of available habitat for seaside and saltmarsh sparrows will decline and nests will be flooded more frequently. In addition, growing human populations on the coast are putting increasing pressure on the birds.

The current study was focused on the fate of seaside and saltmarsh sparrows within the Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge in New Jersey based on various scenarios. The researchers also set out to explore potential management strategies to prevent population declines.


Under the condition of a one-foot or a 2.5-foot rise in sea levels, seaside sparrows survived. The saltmarsh sparrows, however, were projected to become locally extinct in about 30 years under both conditions. 

“Given the projected increases in sea level over the next few decades and threats from predators, we will need to implement timely and creative actions to avoid extinction of saltmarsh sparrows,” said study lead author Samuel Griffith Roberts.

The study is published in the journal <a href="http://www.americanornithology.org/content/condor-ornithological-applications">The Condor: Ornithological Applications</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a>

Endangered sparrows are facing extinction with future sea-level rise

A new study from the Oxford University Press is warning...

It may seem hard to find two animals more different than a hummingbird and an crocodile  But as strange as it may be, birds and crocodilians (the group containing alligators, crocodiles and gharials) are each other’s closest relatives.  In fact, crocodilians and birds are the sole survivors of a much larger and more diverse group called the archosaurs. Archosaurs translates into ‘ruling reptiles’ which explains why it contains all extinct dinosaurs and pterosaurs (flying reptiles).  Archosaurs actually were ruling reptiles for a while, at least in a certain sense. 

One large division among vertebrates is synapsids vs. diapsids.  This division is named for holes in the skull. Diapsids have one more hole in their skulls (to lighten them) than do synapsids; ‘di’ meaning ‘two’.  Synapsids include all mammals and the ancestors of mammals, the ‘mammal-like reptiles’. During the Permian Period, the mammal-like reptiles were doing very well, occupying a large amount of niches available.  

The <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/permian-mass-extinction/">Permian-Triassic extinction</a> changed the balance though.  Enough mammal-like reptiles died off that it left the door open to the archosaurs, which is why we see the beginnings of true dinosaurs appear in the Triassic.  200 million years ago toward the end of the Triassic is when the first crocodilian fossils show up. Of course, it was a while later before modern birds arrived.  

[caption id="attachment_1871271" align="aligncenter" width="650"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/archosaur.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1871271" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/archosaur.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="488" /></a> Computer illustration of an Archosaur, Image Credit: Michael Rosskothen/Shutterstock[/caption]

Modern birds eventually evolved from dinosaurs.  The similarities between today’s birds and extinct dinosaurs are numerous – they have similar hip sockets (different from any other animals), they both have feathers, the feet of some dinosaurs were eerily similar to those of modern birds.  Looking at dinosaur trackways drives home the last point; the <a href="http://www.thetrustees.org/what-we-care-about/history-culture/tracking-time-place.html">first scientifically described dinosaur tracks</a> were hypothesized to be bird prints.  Given the thinking of the time, it was even suggested that the tracks were those of the ravens Noah released from the ark.  It’s easy to see the similarities between extinct dinosaurs and modern birds – they even nest in similar patterns. But you still have to dig a little harder to find the connections between crocodilians and birds.  

Of course, dinosaurs (birds) split from crocodiles at some point in the distant past, specifically sometime in the Triassic.  Interestingly, there is a fossil animal that showed up around when this split should’ve occurred. Carnufex was discovered in North Carolina in 2003, according to <a href="https://blogs.plos.org/paleocomm/2016/08/01/the-first-crocodile-ancestors/">PLOS</a>.  <a href="https://news.ncsu.edu/2015/03/zanno-carnufex/">North Carolina State University</a> reports that researchers led by Lindsay Zanno reconstructed Carnufex and found the creature to have a combination of crocodile and bird traits.  Carnufex seems to represent the beginning of a split between what would one day become modern birds and those that would become modern crocodilians.

Carnufex was about nine feet long, which shows that at that early time, land dwelling crocodile-like animals were competing directly with early dinosaurs for niches as top predators.  Eventually dinosaurs pushed those that would become crocodilians into their own niches but for a while, there were eerie similarities between the two. 

For anyone who’s watched a sea turtle pulling itself laboriously across a night time beach to dig a hole with her back flippers and lay eggs, only to leave them, it’s obvious reptiles aren’t good parents.  As soon as the turtle has filled in her hole, she crawls back to the ocean, leaving only an odd trackway and her hidden eggs to mark her passage. I’ve even watched sea turtles dig holes too low in the tide where water fills their nests and lay their doomed eggs anyway.  Birds, on the other hand, are great parents. 

For three months I helped collect data on nesting sea birds, especially black-legged kittiwakes.  The parent kittiwakes dutifully take turns sitting on eggs while the other is out hunting the sea for fish and other food.  There were variations in the parenting care for sure. When it was time to measure the eggs or chicks, most of the parents would simply fly from their nests, returning an hour later to resume parenting.  Some birds were relentless, like angry soccer moms out for blood. These birds would scream and circle, diving at the head of whoever was collecting data on their baby. Either way, the kittiwakes all put in a lot of time caring for chicks despite squabbles over prime nest platforms.  

Sometimes a pair would be pushed from their nest and replaced by a new ruthless pair of parents hungry for prime real estate.  Once I watched a new pair take over a nest with a chick. Instead of killing the chick or letting her die, the new pair simply adopted her, feeding her fish until she could fly away.  These are some of the more anthropocentric reasons that many people look more kindly on birds than other reptiles – they’re good parents, they perhaps even show something we could call empathy.  Interestingly, this is one trait shared between birds and crocodilians. 

When I interviewed for a position as a kayak naturalist guide in the Everglades, the head guide told me he’s only been rushed by an alligator once – when someone on a trip knocked baby alligators off a log without him noticing.  Crocodilians are better parents than sea turtles, and mother crocodilians can be similar to mother bears; if you mess with their babies you better watch out! All crocodilians put a bit of effort into building nests, digging a hole or mounding vegetation depending.  Rotting vegetation can actually warm the nest, incubating it. Some species depend on specific temperatures to determine the gender of the young. When the infant crocodilians are hatched, they’re carried in their mother’s mouth when danger is around. According to the <a href="https://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/crocodilian">San Diego Zoo</a>, the only species that doesn’t carry her young this way is the gharial with a mouth too narrow for its young.  Crocodilians stay with their mothers for about a year, riding on her back and learning to swim. But it isn’t just behavior, either.  

According to the <a href="https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2010/11/bird-meet-cousin-alligator/">Harvard Gazette</a>, researcher, Arkhat Abzhanov has been looking at genes involved in bird and crocodile development.  Unsurprisingly there are some very similar genes expressed in very different ways between the two groups.  After all, birds and crocodilians are just two small pieces of the mystery and science of evolution that connects us to all life on Earth.       

--

By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

Crocodiles and birds have more in common than you might think

It may seem hard to find two animals more different...

Researchers from the <a href="http://english.kiz.cas.cn/">Kunming Institute of Zoology</a> injected rhesus monkeys with human genes creating transgenic monkeys in a controversial new study. 

The study, published in the Beijing journal National Science Review, was meant to help shed light on the evolution of human intelligence.

Human intelligence is a mystery and researchers are unsure how the human brain evolved so quickly. By comparing <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/bonobos-early-human-evolution/">chimpanzee or bonobo brains to human brains,</a> researchers can get a better idea of what genes might be behind human intelligence.

The researchers saw a unique opportunity to examine how the human gene MCPH1 influences intelligence in 11 rhesus monkeys.

The transgenic monkeys had slower brain development comparable to human brain development and performed better on short-term memory tests involving colors and shapes.

The researchers say there was no difference in brain size though, and the study does little to identify the driving mechanisms behind human intelligence.

Only five of the monkeys survived the tests which have led to questions about lab conditions and how the monkeys were cared for. 

The study has made waves among researchers who are concerned about the ethical ramifications of such experiments. 

“The use of transgenic monkeys to study human genes linked to brain evolution is a very risky road to take,” James Sikela, a researcher from the <a href="https://www.colorado.edu/">University of Colorado</a>, told<a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/s/613277/chinese-scientists-have-put-human-brain-genes-in-monkeysand-yes-they-may-be-smarter/"> MIT Technology Review</a>. “It is a classic slippery slope issue, and one that we can expect to recur as this type of research is pursued.” 

This is not the first time that Chinese scientists have raised ethical concerns when it comes to genetically modified monkeys. 

Earlier in January researchers cloned five macaques from a single genetically engineered monkey that had a sleep disorder. All five of the clones developed mental problems as a result. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Scientists inject monkeys with human brain genes in controversial study

Researchers from the Kunming Institute of Zoology injected rhesus monkeys...

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How jellyfish break free from the seafloor. Researchers at the <a href="https://www.oist.jp/">Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University</a> (OIST) have recently identified the genes that allow jellyfish to break free and swim away from the ocean floor, which they are anchored to in the earliest stage of life. The specialized genes enable the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/jellyfish-chips-crunchy-snack/">jellyfish</a> to transform from stalk-like structures rooted in sediment to the bell-shaped creatures that glide through the sea. 

While anthozoans such as anemones and corals live out their lives in an immobile polyp state, jellyfish are able to advance into the medusa stage. The researchers set out to investigate what gives jellyfish this ability by analyzing the genomes of a moon jellyfish and a giant box jellyfish.

“By comparing two different types of jellyfish we expected to identify some universal rules on how to make a medusa stage,” said study first author Dr. Konstantin Khalturin. How jellyfish break free from the seafloor

As a jellyfish exits its polyp stage and leaves the ocean floor, different genes are activated to assist in its development. To pinpoint these specialized genes, the researchers compared the complete gene sequences of a moon jellyfish from the Baltic Sea and a giant box jellyfish from Japan to the gene sequences of corals and anemones.

[caption id="attachment_1871261" align="aligncenter" width="650"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/moon-jellyfish.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1871261" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/moon-jellyfish.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="503" /></a> Moon jellyfish, Image Credit: OIST[/caption]

“We expected that the genome organization in the two jellyfish would be more similar to each other than to the genomes of sea anemones or corals,” said Dr. Khalturin. By contrast, the genetic composition of the two jellyfish was drastically different, while the moon jelly was found to closely resemble anthozoans.

Ultimately, the team discovered that coral and anemones contain about two-thirds of the genes active in the medusa stage of the moon jellyfish. However, an additional arsenal of genes was found in moon jellyfish that were absent in the anthozoans. 

Corals and anemones lack the genes to grow certain organs and tissues, such as eyes and specialized swimming muscles. Both types of jellyfish had species-specific genes that only switch on during their jellyfish stages. The experts hope that future research could give scientists a better understanding of how jellyfish evolve.

The study is published in <a href="https://www.nature.com/natecolevol/">Nature Ecology &amp; Evolution</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Main Image Credit: Dr. Sho Toshino

How jellyfish break free from the seafloor

How jellyfish break free from the seafloor. Researchers at the...

Polar gigantism describes the unusually large <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/warm-blooded-marine-predators-poles/">marine animals</a> that inhabit the polar oceans and deep seas. 

Sea spiders, usually a few centimeters big in most regions of the world, can grow up to 20 inches across in the Southern Ocean in Antarctica. 

Worms, sea sponges, and other marine species can also get monstrously big compared to their warm water relatives, and for years researchers have wondered why this paradox of size exists. 

One prevailing hypothesis is that because creatures at these depths breathe less oxygen, they have slower metabolisms and can grow much larger than is typical for their species. 

Researchers from the <a href="https://manoa.hawaii.edu/">University of Hawaii at Manoa</a> and the<a href="https://www.umt.edu/"> University of Montana</a> conducted a study to put the “oxygen-temperature hypothesis” to the test and monitor how sea spiders respond to different water temperatures. 

The researchers traveled to McMurdo Station in Antarctica and put six species of giant sea spiders native to the area through a rigorous set of exercises in different temperature waters. 

The spiders were flipped upside down continually, and the researchers kept track of how many times a spider was able to right itself. 

At first, the team flipped the spiders in waters that matched their preferred habitat (28 degrees Fahrenheit), and the range of water temperatures increased to nearly 50 degrees Fahrenheit.

The researchers predicted that as the spiders were flipped in warmer waters, it would become harder and harder to flip right side up because of the oxygen demands and the drastic temperature changes. 

This turned out to be far from the case, and the spiders were able to adapt quickly to the changes in temperature and performed as well as smaller sea spiders do in warmer waters.

“We were amazed that not only could the giant animals survive at much higher temperatures than they usually see, but they dealt with warm temperatures just like the smaller ones,” said Caitlin Shishido, the lead author of the study. “That's not supposed to happen; larger animals should exhaust their oxygen supply and run out of gas much sooner than small ones.”

[caption id="attachment_1871257" align="aligncenter" width="633"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/sea-spider.jpg"><img class="size-full wp-image-1871257" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/sea-spider.jpg" alt="" width="633" height="341" /></a> Image Credit: Tim Dwyer/ARCUS[/caption]

Sea spiders breathe through holes in their legs but with the giant sea spiders the researchers found the bigger the spider was, the more porous their legs were. 

Large “swiss cheese” like holes covered the Antarctic sea spiders’ legs, and this could explain why the spider had no problem adapting to the higher oxygen demands in warmer waters. 

It’s important to note that study was short-term and so long-term exposure to warmer temperatures might harm the giant sea, but the researchers say that the findings could indicate that sea spiders may be better suited to adapt to climate change than previously realized. 

The researchers detailed their findings in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>,<a href="https://www.earth.com/"> Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Main Image Credit: NOAA

Sea spiders in Antarctica breathe through holes in their legs

Polar gigantism describes the unusually large marine animals that inhabit...

During the Great Depression, around 15 million people (20 percent of the workforce) were jobless which led to the creation of the <a href="https://www.history.com/topics/great-depression/works-progress-administration">Works Project Administration (WPA)</a> by President Roosevelt in 1935.

With the WPA, people were put to work building roads, bridges, parks, hospitals and schools, laying new sewer lines and storm drains, and for workers in a few Texas counties, digging up fossils. 

From 1939 to 1941, the WPA in partnership with the <a href="http://www.beg.utexas.edu/">University of Texas Bureau of Economic Geology</a> funded the State-Wide Paleontologic-Mineralogic Survey where county residents were paid to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fossils-britains-jurassic-past/">dig up fossils</a>.

Thousands of fossils were uncovered in dig sites across Texas even though the project was in operation for just three years, and a large majority of the fossils are stored in the <a href="https://www.jsg.utexas.edu/vpl/">Texas Vertebrate Paleontology Collection at the Jackson School Museum of Earth History</a>. 

Now for the first time, researchers are picking up where the survey left off and a new study published in the journal Paleontologica Electronica describes the history of the collection and the fossils in their entirety. 

The researchers analyzed the fossils and found that some of the original dig sites near Beeville, Texas were once home to a lush Texas “Serengeti” with large elephant-like animals, rhinos, camels, and even antelopes.

[caption id="attachment_1871253" align="aligncenter" width="650"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Texas.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1871253" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Texas.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="744" /></a> An artist's interpretation of ancient North American fauna, Image Credit: Jay Matternes/ The Smithsonian Institution[/caption]

The fossil collection contains 4,000 specimens that represent 50 species dating 11 million to 12 million years old. 

“It's the most representative collection of life from this time period of Earth history along the Texas Coastal Plain,” said Steven May, the study author. 

Some of the fossils come from never before described extinct species including a new genus of gomphothere, an ancient relative of today’s modern elephants. 

Many of the fossils belonged to large mammals and reptiles because these were the most obvious to spot and dig up. Small bone fragments and remnants of small species were not nearly as exciting as massive elephant tusks. 

“They collected the big, obvious stuff,” May said. “But that doesn't fully represent the incredible diversity of the Miocene environment along the Texas Coastal Plain.”

May tracked down the dig sites to help fill in the gaps and create a more accurate representation of what life was like in those regions at the time.

The new study is just one small step in thoroughly analyzing and describing the collection, and it’s exciting that a significant effort on the part of the WPA and the University of Texas has left such an impressive legacy.

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Main Image Credit: The University of Texas at Austin Jackson School of Geosciences

Fossils reveal elephant-like animals once roamed Texas

During the Great Depression, around 15 million people (20 percent...

A new study from the <a href="http://www.americanornithology.org/">American Ornithological Society</a> has found that harsh winter conditions negatively impact birds that are forced to leave their homes in northern forests and wander far from their normal ranges to find food. The researchers used data from citizen scientists to show how these <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/feeding-birds-helpful-harmful/">winter</a> movements, known as “irruptions,” significantly reduce the size of breeding populations the following summer.

Irruptions bring seldom-seen boreal birds to the south in large numbers, which is a treat for birdwatchers. On the other hand, little is known about how the birds are affected by these journeys. 

The current study was focused on Red-breasted Nuthatches, a useful species to study because they consistently return to the same core breeding areas after massive irruptions. This makes it possible to compare their breeding populations from one year to the next.

Erica Dunn of <a href="https://weather.gc.ca/canada_e.html">Environment Canada</a> analyzed more than fifty years of records from Ontario's Long Point Bird Observatory (LPBO) against citizen science data from Project FeederWatch, the Christmas Bird Count, and eBird. She confirmed that fall irruptions at Long Point are a good indicator of the state of nuthatches across North America in any given year. 

Next, Dunn used Breeding Bird Survey data to examine the numbers of nuthatches in summers following major irruptions. The study revealed that breeding population density noticeably dropped following winters where nuthatches had wandered farther than usual.

This is the first study to show a clear link between the extent of winter irruption and population density during the following breeding season. The researchers believe that the stress of travel, exposure to predators, and the desperation to find food in unfamiliar places may be taking a toll on the birds.

“This paper actually had its genesis over 30 years ago, when I was running LPBO's Ontario Bird Feeder Survey and noticed that feeder watchers were reporting more nuthatches in winters following large fall irruptions at Long Point. When the biggest irruption ever at LPBO occurred in 2012, I was inspired to use their fifty-plus years of data to investigate that old observation in more detail,” said Dunn. 

“It was truly a project without a particular goal or hypothesis - I simply had a great dataset and wanted to see what I could learn from it. Citizen science data are great for this kind of exploration, because the datasets are so large and are freely available to anyone who wants to work with them.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="http://www.americanornithology.org/content/auk-ornithological-advances">The Auk: Ornithological Advances</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Harsh winters are significantly impacting bird populations

A new study from the American Ornithological Society has found...

While most animals use the larynx to produce sounds, birds use an organ that is deep in the airway called a syrinx. For decades, scientists have wondered how and why the organ developed in the first place, considering that <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/birds-springtime-watch/">birds</a> have multiple larynges. 

Experts at the <a href="https://www.utah.edu/">University of Utah</a> have discovered that the syrinx offers a clear advantage. By sitting so low in the airway, the organ can produce sound with very high efficiency.

“I'm always excited when something is counter-intuitive,” said study co-author Ingo Titze, who is the director of the National Center for Voice and Speech. “Most people would say ‘Put the sound source right by the mouth or the beak, and you'll get the sound to the listener.’ But that's not what we're finding.”

Biologist Franz Goller has studied the mechanics of the syrinx for more than 20 years. Tobias Riede, a former member of Goller's lab, said that he found similarities between the control and design of the syrinx with the mammalian larynx. 

“But the question of why birds have evolved a syrinx, although they also have a larynx, had remained open,” said Riede. A question in understanding evolution is to identify the trade-offs between two different structures with similar function. In this case, the question is centered around what makes the low syrinx the best place for a bird's vocal organs.

“And how would you test that in a bird?” said Riede. “You can't, because you can't move the vocal source up and down the tract.” This is what led the team to use a multidisciplinary approach which combined physics, biology, computation, and engineering. 

“With one methodology, whether you're working on a live specimen or a physical model, it gives you fragments of the whole picture,” said Riede. “Now we often answer serious questions by making combination measurements. We put all the fragments together.”

To measure the various effects of syrinx position on vocal efficiency, the team studied simplified physical models, computational simulation, and real birds of varying body sizes in the laboratory.

“We find that sound is produced with greater efficiency by a sound source in syrinx position,” said Riede. This finding supports the theory that birds with a syrinx low in the airway are better able to communicate and gain the evolutionary advantage of amplified sound.

“If you're small, you don't have too much energy available to produce a signal that is efficient and carries far,” said Riede. “So, by simply moving the sound source, you can make the sound much louder. It's the same problem an engineer faces. If you want to miniaturize your speaker, how do you make that speaker equally loud and intelligible as a big speaker?”

“In the old days we used to think that the sound source just produces the sound and the airway just modifies the sound,” explained Titze. “Our research has shown that there is strong dependence on both the tube, or airway, and the sound source. Where the sound source is in the tube makes a difference, whether it's in the middle, front or back.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/">PLOS Biology</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Natasha Verzhbitskiy

Why do birds have their own unique organ for producing sound?

While most animals use the larynx to produce sounds, birds...

When it comes to lifespan, researchers have found that four bat species have other animals beat. A team from the <a href="https://www.umd.edu/">University of Maryland</a> has worked to pinpoint two traits in the species that could offer up part of the secret to mammal longevity.

Their new study, published in the journal <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsbl.2018.0860">Biology Letters</a>, found that common vampire bats, horseshoe bats, long-eared bats and one lineage of mouse-eared bats live up to four times as long as other mammals the same size. Among those four species, they found that a tolerance for variations in body temperature and differences in body size between males and females are signs that a species might be longer lived.

“This study provides multiple cases of closely related species with varying longevity, which gives us many opportunities to make comparisons and look for some underlying mechanism that would allow some species to live so long,” lead author Dr. Gerald Wilkinson said. 

Mammal longevity is, in most cases, tied to body size. African elephants have an average lifespan of 70 years, and blue whales can live up to 90. Smaller mammals like mice live one to three years. 

Humans are unusual, living about four times longer than other mammals the same size, and about twice as long as our closest primate relatives. Bonobos life about 40 years, and chimpanzees average 50 years.

The researchers believed that singling out unusually long-lived bat species could offer clues as to what traits go with that longevity.

The team analyzed a suite of traits, from hibernation, cave use, sex-based size differences, home range latitude, and tolerance for temperature changes.

They found that bats in extreme latitudes tend to live longer than those that lived near the equator. Those at more extreme locations – especially hibernators – tended to see their body temperatures rise and fall. 

“Of the lineages of bats that live a long time, three of them are hibernators and one of them is the vampire bat,” Wilkinson said. “The vampire bat is very unusual for a mammal in that it can let its body temperature rise and fall throughout the day.” 

Variations in body temperature could help mammals fight infections and preserve energy, the scientists theorized – similar to how humans’ fevers are a mechanism to fight infection.

Additionally, species where males and females were close to the same size tended to live longer than those in which the males were much longer.

The researchers are hoping to continue looking into exactly how those traits came to be linked with mammal longevity, and whether than can be used to increase our own lifespans.

“If we lived as long as bats, adjusted for size, we could live 240 years,” Wilkinson said. “Everybody wants to know how these animals can live so long. This kind of work can help us get to the answers.”

—

By Kyla Cathey, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> staff writer

Bats may hold key to mammal longevity – including humans

When it comes to lifespan, researchers have found that four...

The range of mosquito and tick-borne (vector-borne) diseases like chikungunya, dengue fever, leishmaniasis, and tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) is rapidly expanding, according to new research being presented at this year's <a href="https://www.escmid.org/">European Congress of Clinical Microbiology &amp; Infectious Diseases</a> (ECCMID).

Over the next few decades, vector-borne diseases are expected to sweep Europe due to climate change and international travel. Europeans in higher latitudes and altitudes, who have not experienced the threat of vector-borne diseases before, may need to be on alert in the coming years if preventative measures aren’t taken, and if surveillance and data sharing pertaining to vector-borne outbreaks is not improved. 

"Climate change is not the only or even the main factor driving the increase in vector-borne diseases across Europe, but it is one of many factors alongside globalisation, socio economic development, urbanisation, and widespread land-use change which need to be addressed to limit the importation and spread of these diseases,” said Professor Jan Semenza from the <a href="https://ecdc.europa.eu/en/home">European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control</a> in Stockholm, Sweden.

"The stark reality is that longer hot seasons will enlarge the seasonal window for the potential spread of vector-borne diseases and favour larger outbreaks,” said Dr. Giovanni Rezza, Director of the <a href="https://ecdc.europa.eu/en/instituto-superiore-di-sanita-epiet">Department of Infectious Diseases at the Istituto Superiore di Sanitá</a> in Rome, Italy. "We must be prepared to deal with these tropical infections. Lessons from recent outbreaks of West Nile virus in North America and chikungunya in the Caribbean and Italy highlight the importance of assessing future vector-borne disease risks and preparing contingencies for future outbreaks."

Because of global warming, <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/mosquitoes-sense-smell-disease/">mosquitos</a>, ticks, and other disease-carrying insects have had the opportunity to adapt to changing seasons, and populations have mushroomed in both tropical regions and warmer regions in Europe like France, Greece, and Croatia.

"Mediterranean Europe is now a part-time tropical region, where competent vectors like the Tiger mosquito are already established,” Dr. Rezza noted. 

Over the past 30 years, there has been a 400% increase in reported cases of the viral disease TBE. This influx is mostly due to heightened surveillance and diagnosis. However, climate change models predict that by 2040 through 2060, we could see a 3.8% population growth of Ixodes ricinus ticks, with Scandinavia being the largest area at risk.

"Given the ongoing spread of invasive mosquitoes and other vectors across Europe, we must anticipate outbreaks and move to intervene early,” Professor Semenza said. "Public health agencies need to improve surveillance, for example through early warning systems, increase awareness of the potential risks among healthcare workers and the general public, as well as adopt innovative control strategies such as community interventions."

--

By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a>

Range of tick and mosquito-borne disease is spreading rapidly

The range of mosquito and tick-borne (vector-borne) diseases like chikungunya,...

A new study from <a href="https://english.tau.ac.il/">Tel Aviv University</a> has revealed that <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-neanderthals-cannibalism/">Neanderthals</a> and woolly mammoths shared DNA that allowed them to adapt to freezing cold environments hundreds of thousands of years ago. The researchers also discovered genes that the ancient humans and animals had in common which would have increased the production of hair and skin.

“Neanderthals and mammoths lived together in Europe during the Ice Age. The evidence suggests that Neanderthals hunted and ate mammoths for tens of thousands of years and were actually physically dependent on calories extracted from mammoths for their successful adaptation,” said study co-lead author Professor Barkai. “Neanderthals depended on mammoths for their very existence.”

“They say you are what you eat. This was especially true of Neanderthals; they ate mammoths but were apparently also genetically similar to mammoths.”

To investigate these similarities, the archaeologists reviewed three case studies that compared the genomes of woolly mammoths and Neanderthals. 

The first case study described the mutual appearance of the LEPR gene, which is related to thermogenesis and fat storage in the body. The second study found genes related to keratin protein activity in both species, and the third study focused on skin and hair pigmentation variants in the genes MC1R and SLC7A11.

“Our observations present the likelihood of resemblance between numerous molecular variants that resulted in similar cold-adapted epigenetic traits of two species, both of which evolved in Eurasia from an African ancestor,” explained study co-lead author Meidad Kislev. “These remarkable findings offer supporting evidence for the contention regarding the nature of convergent evolution through molecular resemblance, in which similarities in genetic variants between adapted species are present.”

“We believe these types of connections can be valuable for future evolutionary research. They're especially interesting when they involve other large-brained mammals, with long life spans, complex social behavior and their interactions in shared habitats with early humans.”

The researchers concluded that both species likely had ancestors that came from Africa and adapted to living conditions in Ice Age Europe. The species also became extinct at around the same time.

“It is now possible to try to answer a question no one has asked before: Are there genetic similarities between evolutionary adaptation paths in Neanderthals and mammoths?” said Professor Barkai. “The answer seems to be yes. This idea alone opens endless avenues for new research in evolution, archaeology and other disciplines.”

“At a time when proboscideans are under threat of disappearance from the world due to the ugly human greed for ivory, highlighting our shared history and similarities with elephants and mammoths might be a point worth taking into consideration.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.khanacademy.org/science/biology/human-biology">Human Biology</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Neanderthals and woolly mammoths shared much of the same DNA

A new study from Tel Aviv University has revealed that...

Neonicotinoids are a class of pesticides that were once extremely common, but after numerous studies showed that the pesticides hurt key pollinators, many countries have implemented <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/european-union-ban-pesticides/">restrictions and bans</a>. 

While neonicotinoids have been deemed harmful and dangerous to bee colonies, there has been a new push to find safer alternatives that effectively target pests and diseases. 

One potential frontrunner was flupyradifurone which was thought to be much safer for bees and yet still effective as an insecticide.

Flupyradifurone acts similarly to neonicotinoids, but the agent is chemically different which is why it works so well to eradicate pests, and it’s considered safe for bees, according to the <a href="https://www.epa.gov/">Environmental Protection Agency</a>. 

But now, a new study published in the journal <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2019.0433">Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences</a> has found that when used in conjunction with a popular fungicide, flupyradifurone is harmful to bees. 

Researchers from the <a href="https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/">University of California</a> and the <a href="https://sites.anses.fr/en/minisite/abeilles/eurl-bee-health-home">European Union Reference Laboratory for Honeybee Health</a> exposed lab bees to both flupyradifurone and the fungicide propiconazole to mirror what pollinators would experience in fields and gardens. 

The combination was particularly dangerous for the bees, and the researchers found that honey bees exposed to the two agents were apathetic and exhibited poor coordination. 

Worker bees were also four times more vulnerable to the impacts of the pesticide and fungicide compared to bees that stayed in the hive. 

“This result is troubling because the official guidelines for pesticide risk assessment only test in-hive bees,' wrote the researchers in their study. “Risk assessment requires relatively limited tests that only marginally address bee behaviour and do not consider the influence of bee age and season.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette,</a> <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Pesticide said to be safer for bees still has a harmful impact

Neonicotinoids are a class of pesticides that were once extremely...

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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-----

Wildlife tunnels save millions of amphibians

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Is chocolate the next nutritional powerhouse?

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

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



---



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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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

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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

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

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



---



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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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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