If you’re a male gray frog trying to find a mate, you’d better have a fast and steady call. That’s what female treefrogs usually go for. But when the crowd gets loud and chaotic, things change. The males that don’t sound all that great? They suddenly have a shot.



In quiet situations where females only hear two males at once, their preferences are clear. They go for the one with the sharper, more rhythmic call. 



But when four or even eight males are calling at once, things get messy. Female choices become unpredictable. This isn’t just a frog issue - it ties into a broader idea that scientists call “choice overload.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-frogs-face-chaos-in-the-chorus">Frogs face chaos in the chorus</h2>



In nature, frogs gather in large, noisy groups called choruses. Picture a shallow pond in spring, with dozens of males calling out at the same time. It’s the frog equivalent of a dating scene in a packed nightclub.



The researchers found that the crowded conditions of these choruses might be too overwhelming for females to reliably pick the best mate. It’s not that they stop caring - it’s that they can’t tell who’s who.



Professor Jessie Tanner of the <a href="https://www.utk.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Tennessee, Knoxville</a>, led a team studying how choice overload affects evolution.



“Because female mate choice can drive evolution, our results suggest that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/unraveling-the-story-of-early-animal-evolution/">evolution</a> might happen more slowly than we thought before,” she said. 



“Some males that are fairly unattractive could still mate, especially if they take advantage of crowded spaces where females might be less able to discriminate between attractive and unattractive males.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-happens-when-choices-are-too-hard">What happens when choices are too hard?</h2>



The idea of choice overload is pretty common in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/science-behind-predicting-and-changing-human-behavior/">human behavior</a>. You walk into a store to buy toothpaste and face 50 brands. You either freeze, grab something random, or walk away. Same goes for dating apps with endless swiping.



“We wanted to understand how having to make mating decisions in crowded environments, where choice overload could be a problem, might drive the evolution of calls,” Tanner explained. 



“Since males that are chosen by females pass on their genes to the next generation, this mate choice can cause the population to change over time.”



When animals, like people, face too many options, their decision-making can break down. That opens up a chance for less attractive mates to get picked - not because they became more appealing, but because the chooser got overwhelmed.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-choice-overload-in-other-animals">Choice overload in other animals</h2>



This isn’t just about frogs. Scientists are now looking at how this effect shows up in other animals. <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/bumblebees-increasingly-stressed-over-the-past-century/">Bumblebees</a>, for instance, are on the list. So are wood roaches.



“Our lab is working to understand how choice overload and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/frogs-have-lungs-that-cancel-out-background-noise/">noise</a> may each contribute to the difficulty female treefrogs face in making mating decisions,” Tanner said. 



“We are also working to understand whether this choice overload is something that occurs generally in many different kinds of animals or is more specific to individual species.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-simultaneous-cricket-songs">Simultaneous cricket songs </h2>



Tanner, who has a background in both psychology and biology, first got into animal behavior while studying mate choice as an undergrad. She later became interested in sound - especially how it plays into animal communication.



That led to earlier work on <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/when-male-crickets-go-silent-how-females-adapt-and-respond/">crickets</a>. Like treefrogs, male crickets use sound to attract mates. A study on cricket mating showed that noisy environments might either block females from hearing calls or make them too confused to pick. It was hard to tell which was causing the problem.



“During that study, it became clear that our work was consistent with both the possibility that many simultaneous cricket songs created noise that made it hard for females to hear, and the possibility that the females were experiencing choice overload,” Tanner said. “Our current work looks to disentangle those ideas.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-when-average-becomes-good-enough">When average becomes good enough</h2>



The research adds a new layer to how scientists think about evolution. Normally, stronger signals - like a faster frog call - are expected to win out and spread through the population over time. 



But if crowded conditions keep females from consistently picking the top performers, evolution slows down. Mediocre traits stick around longer.



That changes the math for survival. In nature, being the best isn’t always enough - and sometimes, being just okay is good enough, especially if the crowd’s loud and the choices are many.



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2025.0585" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences</a>.



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Frogs settle for average mates when dating gets too noisy

If you’re a male gray frog trying to find a mate, you’d better have a fast and steady call. That’s what female treefrogs usually go for. But when the crowd gets loud and chaotic, things change. The males that don’t sound all that great? They suddenly have a shot. In quiet situations where females only hear two males at once, their preferences are clear. They go for the one with the sharper, more rhythmic call. But when four or even eight males are calling at once, things...

“You can hide as cleverly as you like, but in the final analysis mimicry is deception, pure and simple. It doesn't solve a thing,” says a character in Haruki Murakami’s IQ84. 

That might be true for humans, but in the animal world, mimicry has evolved as as essential adaptation in some species. This deception does indeed solve a problem: that of being eaten. Some animals mimic leaves, or rocks, or the substrate upon which they live, obscuring them from <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/plants-use-camouflage/">predators</a>. Others possess markings that make them resemble predators themselves. Take, for example, the owlish “eyes” on the wings of many insects. 

While the camouflaging properties conferred by a resemblance to an inanimate object or a larger, dangerous, animal are obvious, some creatures have developed even more complex forms of mimicry. In Batesian mimicry, non-toxic species have evolved to mirror the aposematic patterns used by poisonous species to advertise their toxicity, thus protecting them in some measure from predators who are wary of such markings. That phenomenon was first noted by Henry Walter Bates <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1096-3642.1860.tb00146.x">in an 1862 paper</a> and was later taken up by Charles Darwin. 

Conversely, in Müllerian mimicry, one toxic species evolves to resemble another toxic species. The German scholar Fritz Müller first noted strong similarities between the markings of several species of poisonous Brazilian butterfly <a href="http://www.ucl.ac.uk/taxome/jim/Mim/muller1878.html">in 1878</a>. (He too communicated his findings to Darwin.) While all were toxic to birds and other animals that might think to prey upon them, they appeared to be copying each other in physical appearance. Among the butterflies he observed were those in the subfamily Heliconiinae, still among the most diverse and best studied groups of Müllerian mimics. Müller’s observations have since been borne out in observations of many other species. However, the validity of his original characterization is hotly debated, not least due to the overlapping Batesian characteristics of some putative Müllerian mimicry relationships. 

Per Müller’s reasoning, this form of mimicry evolved in less common, but still unpalatable species that shared a habitat with another distasteful, but more common species. This advergence allowed the two species to share the burden of predation by naive young birds and lizards. If, for example, a fledgling bird must sample a novel type of insect several times before learning that it is poisonous, relatively fewer members of each similarly patterned species will be taken. The bird population will have learned that the pattern shared by the less abundant species with the more abundant species signifies an inedible insect by eating some of the model species rather than its mimic and vice versa. 

If the less-common species had its own pattern, more would need to be sampled before the bird population wised up to its nasty taste, resulting in the death of more specimens of that butterfly. Though the benefits to the mimic species are greater, predation on the model species is slightly defrayed by the consumption of mimic specimens. 

In experiments where the patterns of Heliconius butterflies were obscured before they were released near insectivorous birds, the birds attempted to eat them. The butterflies were of the same species that the birds avoided when its natural coloring was visible. So, too, birds exposed to <a href="http://www.bioone.org/doi/abs/10.1646/02128">color morphs of toxic butterflies that did not share their range</a> sampled them with abandon, thereby supporting the notion of predator learning curves as a strong selective force. Such an arrangement strongly discourages the emergence of polymorphism in the mimic species. If it displays a novel pattern rather than the pattern of its model, it is that much more likely to be eaten.

[caption id="attachment_1861603" align="aligncenter" width="700"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/4362021301_26d1e7b43f_o.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1861603" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/4362021301_26d1e7b43f_o-744x1024.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="963" /></a> Ben Sale/Seitz Macrolepidoptera Volume V: THE AMERICAN RHOPALOCERA. Stuttgart 1924 - Page 76 (HELICONIUS)[/caption]

Model species, however, often do display polymorphism and mimics may follow these shifting colors and patterns as they vary across their shared range. This is known as a mimicry ring. The butterflies Heliconius erato and H. melpomene exhibit at least 30 color variations. Each variation is matched by the other species across the expanse of their co-distribution. 

If that seems remarkable, consider this: Müllerian mimicry frequently involves more than two species. In the Appalachian Mountains of the United States, a group of seven species of toxic millipede exists in a ring wherein coloration varies from locale to locale and <a href="http://www.pnas.org/content/106/24/9755">all seven species at a given locale resemble the others</a>. The case of the millipedes is a particularly appealing illustration of Müllerian mimicry because they are all blind, ruling out the role of sexual selection in their coloration, as may be the case in butterflies and other animals. Intriguingly, in some species, one sex may exhibit Müllerian mimicry and the other not, <a href="http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/273/1590/1135">as in the case of Asian pitvipers</a>. This is thought to be due to the differing habits of the sexes, which expose them to different predation risk.

All of this is complicated by the frequent imbalance in toxicity between mimics. Sometimes, the mimicking species is less toxic than the model species, blurring the boundaries between Müllerian and Batesian mimicry. Some have suggested that supposedly Müllerian mimicry relationships in which the mimic is less toxic than the model may actually be Batesian or parasitic. 

Because some specimens exhibiting the shared pattern are more palatable, the resemblance may actually result in more predation of the toxic model species by predators who have learned that is sometimes okay to eat specimens exhibiting those patterns. On this basis, it is asserted that true Müllerian mimicry is quite rare, as most such relationships contain species with unequal level of toxicity. 

To whit: several species of tiger moths mimic wasps and while the moths are toxic, they hardly possess the stopping power of a wasp sting. Such scenarios have been proposed as a possible selection pressure on certain model species who are evolving to resemble their tastier mimics less closely in order to reduce being mistaken for them. Then, there are the mimics who are in fact more toxic than their models, as in the case of the poison frog Dendrobates imitator. It mimics three different species, all of which are less toxic, depending on which species it occurs alongside. It may have been more evolutionarily parsimonious for D. imitator to resemble its more-common model species as it moved into their territories than to rely on its own aposematic signals to deter predation.

All of this suggests a more intricate schema for the development of shared aposematism than initially conceptualized by Bates and Müller. Further exceptions and modifications to the general rules for these relationships are sure to emerge as more species are studied. What’s sure is this: the sickening sartorial habits of toxic organisms reflect an evolutionary arms race belied by the fantastical colors and patterns that result.

--

By <a href="mailto:rtpallardy@gmail.com">Richard Pallardy</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

Image Credit: yakovlev.alexey/Flickr

Pretty poison and Müllerian mimicry: Teaming up to avoid predation

“You can hide as cleverly as you like, but in...

The Inaccessible Island rail, so named for the island it calls home, is the world’s smallest flightless bird. 

Inaccessible Island is one of five islands equal distance from South America and Argentina that are part of a cluster of extinct and active <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/japanese-volcanoes-magma-pool/">volcanoes</a>.

Steep cliffs and rocky beaches make the Inaccessible Island challenging to explore and so the island, and its wildlife has remained a mystery for hundreds of years. 

In 2011, four biologists from the <a href="https://www.lunduniversity.lu.se/">Lund University</a> in Sweden took a fieldwork trip to the island and in the process uncovered the evolutionary history of the Inaccessible Island rail.  

The rails are found only on the island and there are many mysteries about how and when the birds arrived. 

It was thought that the birds used a chain of land extensions called Atlantisia (long since submerged). But according to the <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6351431/Scientists-discover-worlds-smallest-flightless-bird-descended-flying-ancestors.html">Daily Mail</a>, new research have revealed that early ancestors of the rail flew to the island 1.5 million years ago from South America. 

Over time, the rail evolved without flight because there were no threats on the island. 

The researchers used low nets to capture rails and then sequenced the genome of the birds. After gene sequencing, the researchers discovered that the Inaccessible Island rail’s closest relative was the Dot-winged crake. 

Dot-winges crakes can fly which means at one time, the rail was able to fly but lost this trait over time. 

“We’re quite sad because Atlantisia is a beautiful name with a beautiful history,” Martin Stervander, a member of the fieldwork team, told <a href="https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/inaccessible-island-rails-history">Atlas Obscura</a>. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: Peter G Ryan/SWNS

How the world’s smallest flightless birds lost the ability to fly

The Inaccessible Island rail, so named for the island it...

Recent studies on orangutans are contradicting a new report from the Indonesian government, which claims that orangutan populations increased by more than ten percent from 2015 to 2017. Earlier this year, researchers found that over 100,000 orangutans were lost in <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/orangutans-lost-borneo/">Borneo</a> between 1999 and 2015, and that the animals are still seriously threatened by deforestation and hunting.

“All three species of orangutan are Critically Endangered and on a steep decline. Their numbers are not increasing as indicated by the Indonesian government report,” said Erik Meijaard of <a href="http://www.borneofutures.org/about.html">Borneo Futures</a> and the IUCN Species Survival Commission.

Indonesia's research, which was focused on nine monitoring sites, suggests that the orangutan population doubled in a single year - growing from 1,153 orangutans in 2015 to 2,451 individuals in 2016.

According to the researchers, however, “it is biologically impossible for an orangutan population to double its size in a year.” They explained that any increase in those areas was inevitably preceded by a reduction elsewhere.

Furthermore, the sites accounted for by the Indonesian government represent less than five percent of the Bornean and Sumatran orangutan's range. One group, the Tapanuli orangutan, is left out of the estimates altogether. The study authors said that it is “scientifically unjustified to extrapolate population trends from these sampling sites to the total range of all three species.”

Meijaard explained that the Indonesian government is now in the process of developing a new 10-year action plan for orangutan conservation.

“If the government thinks that orangutan populations are increasing, it calls for completely different strategies compared to those required for dealing with rapidly decreasing populations,” said Meijaard. “It is important that the government realizes that populations remain in decline. Therefore, a new approach to orangutan conservation is needed.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/home">Current Biology</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: HUTAN-KOCP

Despite Indonesia’s claims, orangutans are still on the decline

Recent studies on orangutans are contradicting a new report from...

Australia’s long-lasting and severe drought, known as the “Big Dry,” has been persisting for years in some parts of the country and is devastating populations of Australia's iconic animals. 

The drought is shrinking greenery and with it, food and water for many animals like kangaroos, Koalas, emus, wombats, and echidnas. 

Unable to adapt to the drought while farmers work to reserve grazing areas for their livestock, wildlife in Australia are taking more risks, traveling farther, and venturing into more populated areas in search of food. 

As a result, wildlife rescuers are seeing an increase in traffic incidents from animal crossings and abandoned young. 

In the last three years, there has been a 20 percent increase in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/emus-australian-drought/">wildlife traffic incidents</a>, according to insurance reports from Australia. 

Many drivers in North America don’t have to be reminded of the hazard of driving during peak deer season in the fall. 

Deer can do untold amounts of damage to a car, and in Australia, kangaroos pose a similar risk and drivers are being cautioned not to swerve when faced with a potential collision. 

“People don't want to hurt the animal because that's understandable, but sometimes you just need to learn you don't swerve, you just have to brake,” Australian farmer, Sandra Ireson, told the <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-6340625/Perilous-times-Australia-wildlife-amid-severe-drought.html">Daily Mail</a>. “And you may have to injure the animal, which is disappointing but that's better than having a disastrous accident.”

The <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-6340625/Perilous-times-Australia-wildlife-amid-severe-drought.html">Daily Mail</a> reported on the steep declines in wildlife populations due to the drought and stated that the animals are not able to adapt quickly enough to the changes. As a result, many populations are struggling to survive. 

Many animals are traveling outside of their known habitats and human-wildlife encounters are increasing. 

“We're finding a lot more wallabies with blindness because they're actually coming out into the open paddocks searching for food, and their eyes are unable to cope with full sunlight,” Rachel Walker, a wildlife rescuer told the Agence France-Presse. 

Since 2016, there has been a 52 percent increase in marsupial rescues, according to the rescue group <a href="https://www.wires.org.au/">WIRES</a>. 

In some parts of New South Wales, kangaroos have been particularly hard hit, with one ecologist reporting a 90 percent decline in the local kangaroo population. 

At this point, there is no telling when the big dry will be over, and climate change is projected to cause more droughts worldwide. 

With Australia's wildlife unable to cope with the changes, conservation measures will need to take into account wildlife populations as well as agricultural operations to preserve the country’s rich biodiversity while still allowing farming communities to keep their livelihoods.

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Severe drought in Australia has led to serious declines in wildlife

Australia’s long-lasting and severe drought, known as the “Big Dry,”...

No need to feel guilty when you snack on "junk food" like fish sticks – at least, not on the environmental front. They’re surprisingly sustainable, according to a new study by the <a href="https://www.mcsuk.org/">Marine Conservation Society</a>.

The society has released a “Good Fish Finger Guide” on its website to help people choose snacks with the lowest negative impact on marine life.

“Consumers may not be aware that the majority of fish in retail own brand and branded fish fingers actually comes from sustainable sources,” said Rajina Gurung, a sustainable seafood advocate with MCS. “Some saver brands even turned out to be the most sustainable, showing that you do not have to pay a fortune for sustainability.”

Gurung and colleagues analyzed 48 different brands of fish sticks – called fish fingers in the UK – to determine what kinds of fish they use and where they get their supplies. 

They found that the fish sticks contained one or more of just four species: Atlantic cod, Pacific cod, haddock and Alaska pollock. The majority got their fish ingredients from sustainable sources, the study found.

So why don’t more customers know that? The problem is one of labeling, Gurung said.

Forty percent of the fish sticks brands didn’t have a credible eco-label, and only 19 percent included enough details for buyers to know where and how their fish ingredients were caught. But with a little digging, it wasn’t hard for Gurung and her team to find out more about their fish supplies.

“By and large most of the supermarkets and brands we were in contact with were forthcoming with providing the information regarding the origins of the fish within their fish fingers. We’re now considering focusing on other processed products that are available through retail or food service outlets,” she said. 

To find out more, visit the <a href="https://www.mcsuk.org/responsible-seafood/fish-finger-guide">Good Fish Finger Guide</a>.

--

By <a href="mailto:kcathey@earth.com">Kyla Cathey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

Save the oceans – eat more fish sticks

No need to feel guilty when you snack on "junk...

A new method of surveying whale populations using satellites could prove valuable for studying endangered whales in remote areas. 

As <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/whales-quiet-shipping-noise/">whales</a> face increasing threats from human activities, pollution, and climate change, it’s vital to monitor whale populations, especially those that are critically endangered. 

For example, the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/north-atlantic-right-whales/">North Atlantic right whale,</a> of which there are thought to be only 450 left, is one of the most critically endangered large whale species on Earth. 

Monitoring these mega mammals is often easier said than done as many populations frequent inaccessible regions. 

But now, researchers from the <a href="https://www.cam.ac.uk/">University of Cambridge</a> and the <a href="https://www.bas.ac.uk/">British Antarctic Survey</a> have conducted a study using high-resolution satellite images to track four species of whale. 

“Whales live in all oceans,” said Hannah Cubaynes, the lead author of the study. “Many areas are difficult to access by boats or planes, the traditional means of monitoring whales. The ability to track whales without traveling to these remote and inaccessible areas, in a cost-effective way, will be of great benefit to conservation efforts for whales.”

The study was published in the journal Marine Mammal Science, and already the research has helped identify ten inaccessible whale populations that would benefit from satellite monitoring.

The researchers used images from <a href="https://www.maxar.com/">Maxar Technologies</a>’ DigitalGlobe's WorldView-3 satellite to target the known regions where certain species of whale are concentrated. 

The researchers analyzed seven expansive open ocean images taken by the satellite covering 5,000 kilometers squared of the ocean’s surface in total. 

Southern right whales were observed via satellite off the coast of Argentina, humpback whales were monitored near Hawaii, fin whales were in the Mediterranean, and grey whales were recorded off the coast of Mexico. 

“This is the most detailed imagery of whales captured by satellites to date,” said Cubaynes. “It's exciting that the improved resolution (now at 30 cm) reveals characteristic features, such as flippers and flukes, which can be seen in the images for the first time.”

Some species of whale were easier to identify than others because fin and grey whales have distinct coloring that contrasts the color of their surroundings. Humpbacks, on the other hand, blend in more and also are more agile in the water. 

“This new technology could be a game-changer in helping us to find whales remotely,” said Jennifer Jackson, a co-author of the study. “Critically endangered whale populations like the Chile-Peru right whale (thought to winter in Patagonia) could really benefit from this approach.” 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Scientists use satellites to monitor endangered whale populations

A new method of surveying whale populations using satellites could...

A new project called the <a href="https://www.earthbiogenome.org/">Earth BioGenome Project</a> (EBP) has been launched in an effort to find new ways of protecting <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/protecting-biodiversity-political-action/">biodiversity</a> while sustaining human societies. The goal of the project is to sequence the genomes of all the plants, animals, fungi, and protozoa on the planet over a period of ten years.

The experts behind the project wrote in <a href="http://www.pnas.org/">PNAS</a>:

“Powerful advances in genome sequencing technology, informatics, automation, and artificial intelligence have propelled humankind to the threshold of a new beginning in understanding, utilizing, and conserving biodiversity.”

“For the first time in history, it is possible to efficiently sequence the genomes of all known species and to use genomics to help discover the remaining 80–90% of species that are currently hidden from science.”

The scientists explained that the outcomes of the EBP will inform a broad range of issues, including the impact of climate change on biodiversity and the conservation of endangered species and ecosystems.

In collaboration with the Natural History Museum, the <a href="https://www.sanger.ac.uk/">Wellcome Sanger Institute</a> is leading the initiative. Dr Tim Littlewood is the head of the Life Sciences department at the museum. 

“Whether you are interested in food, disease, or speciation, the history of how every organism on the planet has diverged and adapted to its environment is recorded in its genetic makeup,” said Dr. Littlewood. “How you then harness that is dependent on your ability to understand it.” 


In PNAS, the researchers suggested that life on Earth still holds an incredible amount of untapped potential. 

For example, invertebrates such as sponges, mollusks, and cone snails have contributed to several drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration for treating cancer, viral infections, and pain. Fungi are the basis for fermentation to produce wine, beer, and bread, while plants are the basis of major industries, such as food and rubber.

“Unimaginable biological secrets are held in the genomes of the millions of known and unknown organisms on our planet. This ‘dark matter’ of biology could hold the key to unlocking the potential for sustaining planetary ecosystems on which we depend and provide life support systems for a burgeoning world population,” wrote the scientists.

The data collected for the Earth BioGenome Project will be made freely available in public databases.

The initiative is detailed in the paper “Earth BioGenome Project: Sequencing life for the future of life,” which is published in PNAS.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Sequencing the DNA of every living creature to protect biodiversity

A new project called the Earth BioGenome Project (EBP) has...

The scientists who engineered the program that led to Sarah Manning and her clonal “sis-strahs” on the hit show Orphan Black have nothing on the marbled crayfish Procambaria virginalis. They may have managed to <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/clone-woolly-mammoth/">clone</a> two lines of humans, but this species of crayfish is the only species of decapod crustacean to obligately clone itself. It appears to have developed this bizarre ability as a result of a genetic accident, possibly in captivity. And its strange reproductive talents—aided by careless humans—have resulted in crustacean invasions on three continents.

The best evidence shows that the story begins in 1995. A German aquarist and biologist purchased a bag of what he was told were “Texas crayfish” at an aquarium show in Frankfurt. He soon found that the specimens that he purchased did not require males to breed, and were instead parthenogenetic. That is, the all-female population created viable eggs without sperm from a male. 

Though parthenogenesis occurs in some lower species of crustacean, such as Daphnia, it is nearly absent from the 15,000 species of decapod crustaceans, which include shrimp, lobsters and crabs as well as crayfish. Several other species of crayfish appear to be facultatively parthenogenetic. That is, they may clone themselves under certain circumstances. But P. virginalis appears to be the only obligate cloning species. It cannot reproduce in any other way. 

By 2003, the so-called  “marmorkrebs”—German for “marbled crab,” after their marbled coloration—were no longer just an aquarium novelty. They had found their way into German waterways. A free-living population was discovered in southwestern Germany, presumably introduced by an overwhelmed hobbyist who did not know what to do with a tank full of crayfish that kept replicating themselves like mogwais under a sprinkler.

Following this alarming revelation, <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/421806a">intensive studies</a> were initiated in an attempt to isolate the origins of these insidious creatures. They are believed to be an aberrant form of a U.S. species native to Florida and southern Georgia, the slough crayfish, Procambarus fallax—not Texan at all. Genetic analysis has <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-018-0467-9">confirmed their relation</a> and in fact, slough crayfish will mate with marbled crayfish in captivity. It just doesn’t do any good. The slough crayfish, which reproduces sexually in the wild, cannot successfully pass its genes along to the marbled crayfish. The marbled species already has more than enough of them. 

Unlike most animals, which are diploid, meaning that they possess two sets of chromosomes, one from each parent, the marbled crayfish is triploid. It possesses three sets of chromosomes, totalling 276. Two sets of 92 appear relatively identical and the third is slightly different. This may have occurred due to a mutation in which one parent passed down two sets of chromosomes instead of one or may have happened as a result of temperature shock in the egg stage, which can cause autotriplody. The species possesses 3.5 billion base pairs, making it larger than the human genome according to a recent study, <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-018-0467-9">the first to sequence a decapod crustacean genome</a>. 

<a href="https://whyevolutionistrue.wordpress.com/2018/02/08/a-parthenogenetic-crayfish-reproduces-without-sex-is-it-a-new-species/">Some have questioned</a> whether this unique genetic status actually constitutes an incidence of speciation or not. P. virginalis does not occur in the wild—introduced or otherwise—in the U.S. And it cannot interbreed with P. fallax despite its possession of a similar genome. Yet, P. fallax is clearly the parent species and the two are nearly indistinguishable side by side. <a href="http://bio.biologists.org/content/early/2015/10/23/bio.014241">It has been proposed that epigenetic adaptations</a> have allowed the marbled crayfish to expand beyond its parents’ balmy range into the more temperate climes of Europe. 

This geographic separation and the inability to breed with the parent species do seem to support the notion that P. virginalis has in fact speciated. Whether a true species or not, its clonal habits should, at least per some versions of evolutionary theory, put the marbled crayfish at a disadvantage. It should be less able to adapt to disease and other environmental pressures due to its lack of genetic variation. Yet, its epigenetic capabilities have so far defied this rule of evolution. In fact, despite its genomic similarity, the marbled crayfish has demonstrated remarkable phenotypic variation, with different sized and colored specimens being found in different areas.

This evident flexibility has allowed the marbled crayfish to spread rapidly in the three decades since its introduction into the wild. Crayfish are omnivorous and eat voraciously, consuming anything from smaller fish, invertebrates, and their eggs to plants and debris. Their flexible diet makes them a prime candidate for invasion of new territories. The additional reproductive capacity of this species further increases its invasive potential. 

Over its three year lifespan, it may produce some seven batches of eggs, each containing hundreds of clones. The marmorkreb is now found in Sweden, Ukraine, Estonia, Croatia, Hungary, Italy, and the Czech Republic as well as in Germany. And populations have been found in Japan and Madagascar as well. These introductions, like any species invasion, are alarming for a number of reasons. In Europe, they may herald the out-competition of native species and the transmission of Aphanomyces astaci, known as crayfish plague. 

North American species are resistant to the pathogen, but it can devastate populations of crayfish in other parts of the world. Madagascar, a delicate island ecosystem already under threat, has seven native species of crayfish that may be quickly displaced by the rapidly reproducing marmorkrebs. 

The European Union <a href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32014R1143">banned</a> their sale and keeping in 2014, with exceptions for research. This research may be the saving grace of an otherwise pestilent species. Scientists have begun using the marbled crayfish as a model organism and have even used its epigenetic plasticity as a way of understanding cancer cells, which also survive by switching on and off various parts of the genome.

--

By <a href="mailto:rtpallardy@gmail.com">Richard Pallardy</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

The strange problem of the self-cloning crayfish

The scientists who engineered the program that led to Sarah...

Earlier this week, China announced its decision to weaken a ban on the trade of rhino and tiger parts. Parts from the captive animals will now be legalized for specific scientific or medical uses. 

According to the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/">BBC</a>, tiger bones and rhino horns are used in China to treat a variety of medical conditions - such as fever, gout, insomnia, and meningitis - despite the fact that there is no scientific evidence to prove that they are effective for these ailments. 

Critics say that China's new legislation will not be easy to enforce and that it will lead to an increase in <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/asian-lion-bone-market-poaching/">illegal poaching.</a>

Also this week, a major study by the <a href="https://www.worldwildlife.org/">World Wildlife Fund</a> (WWF) has revealed that 60 percent of the world’s mammals, birds, fish, and reptiles have been wiped out since the 1970s as a result of human activities.

The WWF said in a statement that the move by China is an “enormous setback” to efforts to protect the animals. 

“Even if restricted to antiques and use in hospitals, this trade would increase confusion by consumers and law enforcers as to which products are and are not legal, and would likely expand the markets for other tiger and rhino products,” the WWF said.

Kate Brooks is the director of a new documentary film, The Last Animals, which will be released in the United States next spring. The film is focused on the efforts of activists who are fighting to end poaching and protect the world's remaining rhinos and elephants.

“Governments are increasingly acknowledging that there is a convergence between the criminal networks involved in wildlife trafficking, human trafficking, and drugs and weapons smuggling,” Brooks told <a href="http://time.com/5438770/illegal-wildlife-trade-last-animals/?utm_source=emailshare&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=email-share-article&amp;utm_content=20181031">Time</a>.

“The poachers themselves are disposable foot soldiers. It’s hard not to feel compassion for them too, knowing they are being exploited. But they are going armed into protected spaces and killing people, as well as animals.”

Brooks said that poaching is primarily an issue of organized crime. According to Time, the illegal wildlife trade is worth $23 billion a year, and is responsible for the deaths of 7,000 rhinos and 200,000 elephants in the last decade.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

China to weaken its ban on the trade of rhino and tiger parts

Earlier this week, China announced its decision to weaken a...

A new poll, commissioned by <a href="https://www.worldanimalprotection.org/">World Animal Protection</a>, shows a meaningful shift in the way travelers view inhumane animal activities such as elephant rides, swimming with the dolphins excursions, and animal selfies.

For all ages, the poll found a 9 percent drop in the number of people who believe elephant riding is acceptable compared to three years ago. Over 80 percent of tourists stated they would prefer to view animals in their natural environment.

The poll also found that millennial travelers were the most compassionate age group. Jennifer Yellin, Senior Vice President at Northstar, a research firm that conducted focus groups for World Animal Protection said in a <a href="https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/next-generation-of-travellers-are-opting-out-of-harmful-animal-activities-694471931.html">press release</a>, "There is a relationship between age and travel activity choice when it comes to animal welfare. For example, people under 35 are more aware of animal cruelty issues. This age segment, more so than older travelers, voice greater interest in seeing animals in their natural habitats rather than forced interactions like swimming with dolphins."

Young people are known for their interest in traveling and enjoying experiences over material possessions. The desire to have exciting experiences can draw people towards inhumane animal attractions, which often promise hands-on opportunities to play with and take photos of wild animals. Despite this, young people seem to be conscientious of animal welfare when making traveling decisions.

Animal attractions are a common site throughout the world. To unsuspecting travelers, these attractions may seem like a safe haven for wild animals. After all, inhumane animal attractions often try to market themselves this way by using words such as “sanctuary” and by claiming they rescued the animals.

A<a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0138939"> comprehensive study</a> that examined the welfare of animals in 24 different types of wildlife attractions found that 14 attraction types had negative animal welfare and conservation impacts including captive dolphin interactions, <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/captive-elephants-shorter-lives/">elephant</a> parks, and tiger encounters.

The elephant parks in Asia are a particularly prominent animal attraction. There has been a<a href="https://www.worldanimalprotection.org.au/sites/default/files/au_files/taken_for_a_ride_report.pdf"> 30 percent rise</a> in the number of elephant attractions in Thailand since 2010. These attractions offer opportunities to ride, touch and bathe elephants. 

According to<a href="https://www.worldanimalprotection.dk/sites/default/files/se_files/elephant_ride_report_a4.pdf"> World Animal Protection</a>, elephants used for rides undergo a cruel breaking-in process where they are isolated, restrained and struck at a young age to make them accept human riders. A<a href="https://animalnepal.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/report-an-elephant-is-not-a-machine.pdf"> survey</a> by Animal Nepal of 42 elephant safaris found that over 80 percent of the elephants lived in unsuitable conditions.

The new poll shows a promising change in consumer attitude towards animal attractions, especially among the new wave of travelers.

"It's very encouraging to know that young travelers are increasingly considering the wellbeing of animals in their plans.  We know that vacationers don't want to harm wildlife, in fact polling shows that most people participate in harmful wildlife attractions because they like animals.  This movement away from captive wildlife attractions is about education and working with travel companies to improve policies," says Josey Kitson, Executive Director of World Animal Protection Canada in the press release.

The poll comes a few years after TripAdvisor <a href="https://www.tripadvisor.com/blog/our-ongoing-commitment-to-animal-welfare/">announced</a> that they are no longer selling tickets to attractions where travelers can touch wild animals and Instagram <a href="https://help.instagram.com/859615207549041">announced</a> that wildlife hashtags will come with a notification warning about potential animal abuse.

--

By <a href="mailto:brianna.grant134@gmail.com">Brianna Lynne</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

Young people are increasingly rejecting inhumane animal activities

A new poll, commissioned by World Animal Protection, shows a...

The <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/massive-dinosaurs-sneak-prey/">dinosaurs</a> were a successful and dominant species for the 180 or so million years of their existence thanks to a combination of unique traits that provided an evolutionary advantage. 

One of these traits has to do with breathing, and a new study has unlocked the mysteries of how dinosaur lungs were especially suited to their low oxygen environment. 

Oxygen levels 65 million years ago were much lower than they are today, and reports have suggested that there was only half as much oxygen present in the atmosphere as there is now.

Surprisingly, even though there was little oxygen, dinosaurs were quick, agile, and ruled the food chain. 

Researchers from the <a href="http://www.manchester.ac.uk/">University of Manchester</a> examined the lung cavities of dinosaur fossils to better understand how dinosaurs were able to thrive on prehistoric Earth. 

The study, published in the journal Royal Society Open Science, shows that evolution outfitted dinosaurs with highly specialized lungs, similar to the lungs of birds today which provided maximum breathing efficiency. 

“Birds and mammals are highly active and evolved a way of living that requires a lot of oxygen, so their lungs are complicated,” Robert Brocklehurst, the lead author of the study told <a href="https://www.newscientist.com/article/2183495-bird-like-lungs-may-have-helped-dinosaurs-rule-the-world/">New Scientist</a>.“Lizards and snakes have simpler lungs – they don’t need to get a lot of oxygen out of the air because they’re not doing anything with it.”

If the very first dinosaurs evolved lungs that were more bird-like, the researchers say that it could help explain the prosperous reign of the dinosaurs. 

The researchers first examined the empty chest cavities of an alligator and ostrich, both of which have ancestral ties to the dinosaurs but who’s lung structures are very different. 

An alligator’s lung cavity is smooth but for the ostrich, its lung cavity is furrowed, rigid and provides a lot of support. 

“The ribs are very much embedded in the lung tissue, and that gives it a lot of structural support,” says Brocklehurst.

Next, the researchers took CT scans of 29 bird, 16 dinosaur species, and four alligators to compare lung cavities, and the dinosaur lung structure was much more similar to that of birds. 

“We thought maybe some of the dinosaurs would have lungs more like birds, and some would be less similar. But basically everything just looked like the birds,” said Brocklehurst. “I was a bit surprised at quite how similar to birds some of the early dinosaurs were.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Dinosaurs had special lungs to survive in air with little oxygen

The dinosaurs were a successful and dominant species for the...

A new study has revealed that over 100 working dogs have tested positive for a potentially deadly tropical disease that is spread by a blood-sucking triatomine, or “kissing bug.” The <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/dogs-diagnose-malaria/">dogs</a> were on duty for the United States federal government when they contracted the disease, which could become a threat across the country.

The canines have been infected with the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, which causes Chagas disease and may lead to heart problems and even death. Chagas was once confined to Mexico, Central America, and South America, but has now moved into regions of the U.S.

Alyssa Meyers is a PhD candidate at <a href="https://www.tamu.edu/">Texas A&amp;M University</a> who presented the findings.

“We were surprised to find that so many dogs, including those working outside of the kissing bug range, had been exposed to the parasite T. cruzi, and were exhibiting heart abnormalities associated with the disease,” said Meyers.

The T. cruzi parasite is transmitted through the feces of kissing bugs, and infected humans or dogs usually show signs of a fever and fatigue. However, even infections that produce no symptoms can cause heart complications, such as an enlarged heart, followed by sudden death.

According to Meyers, kissing bugs thrive in locations with high concentrations of hosts, leaving dogs in training facilities at a higher risk for exposure. Dogs being conditioned for homeland security are trained at facilities in Texas and Virginia - two states that are known to have populations of kissing bugs that carry the Chagas parasite.

“From previous studies we knew that shelter and stray dogs were at risk for exposure, likely because of their time spent outdoors, and perhaps the dogs working along the U.S.-Mexico border who spend long hours outside often at night might be equally exposed,” said Meyers. “We were not expecting infection in dogs that spend most of their time working along the border with Canada or in airports in Nebraska.”

After evidence of Chagas emerged in dogs working on the Mexican border, Meyers and the Texas A&amp;M team collaborated with experts at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to collect and test blood samples from 1,660 working dogs in 43 states. The canine duties included border patrol, search and rescue, detecting drugs and explosives, and helping to guard federal buildings. 

The testing revealed that 121 dogs, which represented over seven percent of those tested, had antibodies to T. cruzi that indicated an ongoing infection. Many of the infected dogs showed signs of heart abnormalities that are associated with Chagas and can be fatal.

Meyers said that uncertainty about where the infected dogs picked up the parasite makes it difficult to clearly estimate the human risks. Most of the human cases that have been diagnosed in the U.S. are believed to have originated in Latin America, but cases of locally-acquired infections have been documented in many southern states including Arizona, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Texas. 

Meyers added that the discovery of Chagas infections in working dogs does not necessarily mean there is an increasing threat to people. 

“A positive dog usually signals that infected kissing bugs are in the environment,” said Meyers. “But the risk to humans is likely not equal to dogs, in part because dogs have a tendency to eat bugs that could be infected with the parasite and dogs spend more time outdoors.”

Furthermore, while kissing bugs in Mexico and Central America have been found to infest houses, studies show the varieties found in the U.S. are less likely to invade homes, which significantly lowers the risk of human exposure.

The research was presented at the 67th <a href="https://www.astmh.org/annual-meeting">American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH) Annual Meeting</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Federal working dogs are testing positive for a dangerous disease

A new study has revealed that over 100 working dogs...

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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Worms dominated seas before dinosaurs

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



The full study was published in the journal Current Biology.



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Earth's oldest forest found in the United States

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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The environmental problem we actually solved

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

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

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</div></figure>







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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



-----



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What to plant in your garden in mid-July

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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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Wildlife tunnels save millions of amphibians

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Is chocolate the next nutritional powerhouse?

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

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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

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



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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

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

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



---



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



---



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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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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