The sight of a whale shark, the largest fish alive today, leaves most people humbled. Its slow, graceful movements and gentle nature often make them symbols of the ocean’s mystery. Yet behind this serene image lies a struggle for survival.



Populations have fallen sharply, and their biology makes recovery slow. The findings of a new study from Indonesian waters not only reveal the scale of human impacts but also highlight why protecting whale sharks is vital for ocean health.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-whale-shark-decline-accelerates">Whale shark decline accelerates</h2>



Over the last 75 years, global whale shark numbers have dropped by more than half. In the Indo-Pacific, declines are even steeper. 



Hunting, habitat disruption, and entanglements push whale sharks closer to extinction. Because they take up to 30 years to mature, populations rebound very slowly. 



Large-bodied species like whale sharks face unique risks in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/silent-invasion-how-microplastics-are-disrupting-land-ecosystems/">ecosystems</a> since they grow slowly, reproduce late, and invest heavily in fewer offspring. 



The researchers noted that the disappearance of such giants can ripple through marine systems.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-injuries-trace-back-to-people">Injuries trace back to people</h2>



In the Bird’s Head Seascape of West Papua, the research team found 62 percent of whale sharks bore scars or wounds, mostly from human actions.



“We found that scars and injuries were mainly from anthropogenic causes, such as collisions with ‘bagans’ - traditional fishing platforms with lift nets - and whale shark-watching tour boats,” said Dr. Edy Setyawan of the <a href="https://www.elasmobranchinstitute.id" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Elasmobranch Institute Indonesia</a>.



“Relatively harmless minor abrasions were the most common. Serious injuries from natural causes such as predator attacks, or from boat propellers were much less common."



Patterns in ecology show that when human activities concentrate near feeding or breeding grounds, injury rates increase significantly. 



According to the study, direct human pressures such as vessel strikes and fishing gear interactions remain among the greatest global threats to megafauna. Whale sharks are no exception.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-following-the-gentle-giants">Following the gentle giants</h2>



Between 2010 and 2023, the scientists tracked whale sharks across Cenderawasih Bay, Kaimana, Raja Ampat, and Fakfak. This biodiversity hotspot hosts 26 marine protected areas. Using the distinctive spot patterns of each shark, the researchers identified 268 individuals.



Nearly all sightings occurred near bagans, where whale sharks fed on <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ocean-warming-threatens-the-global-fish-supply/">baitfish</a> like anchovies and sprats. Most were juvenile males, four to five meters long. More than half were resighted, including one young male recorded 34 times over three years.



From an ecological lens, these observations support a classic theory: young individuals often use coastal waters rich in food, while adults migrate offshore into deeper, less accessible habitats.



Such ontogenetic shifts are common across marine megafauna and are essential for population survival.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-injuries-reshape-populations">Injuries reshape populations</h2>



Of 206 sharks with scars, over 80 percent carried human-caused injuries. Serious wounds, including lacerations and blunt trauma, were rare but concerning. More often, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/whale-sharks-move-into-dangerous-territory-as-the-climate-warms/">sharks</a> bore superficial abrasions from rubbing against fishing gear and boats.



Studies across marine ecology emphasize that while minor wounds may not kill, cumulative injuries reduce overall fitness.



Injured animals often change behavior, avoid key feeding zones, or expend more energy healing. Over time, this shapes population dynamics.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-female-whale-sharks-live-in-deep-seas">Female whale sharks live in deep seas</h2>



A lingering question is the absence of females and older individuals, since previous studies show that adult whale sharks - especially females - prefer the deep ocean where they feed on prey like krill and schooling fish.



By contrast, younger males remain near shore in shallow, plankton-rich waters that help them grow quickly.



“Our own satellite tracking data also show that females and adults frequently use deep sea features such as canyons and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/seamounts-are-gathering-hubs-for-ocean-predators/">seamounts</a>,” said study co-author Mochamad Iqbal Herwata Putra.



Ecological theory explains this pattern: sexual segregation often arises in large marine vertebrates, with males and females exploiting different ecological niches to reduce competition and improve survival chances. This strategy is a driver of population resilience across species.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tourism-brings-dangers-to-whale-sharks">Tourism brings dangers to whale sharks</h2>



Staying near coasts, whale sharks offer strong potential for ecotourism. 



“Whale sharks in Cenderawasih Bay and Triton Bay (Kaimana) had high rates of residency and resighting, indicating that they should be viewed as valuable tourism assets for local communities and governments,” said Dr. Mark Erdmann of Rewild.



However, unmanaged <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/animals-change-their-daily-schedules-when-tourists-are-watching/">wildlife tourism</a> can create a risky cycle: attraction leads to proximity, which heightens disturbance and injury risk.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-small-changes-big-impact">Small changes, big impact</h2>



The researchers recommend small but effective changes, such as modifying fishing platforms to remove sharp edges.



“We aim to work with the management authorities of the marine protected areas to develop regulations to require slight modifications to the bagans, including the removal of any sharp edges from boat outriggers and net frames," said Erdmann. "We believe those changes will greatly reduce scarring of whale sharks in the region."



Ecological models highlight that even minor adjustments in human practices can dramatically reduce stress on threatened populations. 



Protecting whale sharks is more than conserving one species. It safeguards a keystone component of marine food webs, maintains ecosystem balance, and secures benefits for communities who depend on healthy seas.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/marine-science/articles/10.3389/fmars.2025.1607027/full" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Frontiers in Marine Science</a>.



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Whale sharks are literally scarred by human activity

The sight of a whale shark, the largest fish alive today, leaves most people humbled. Its slow, graceful movements and gentle nature often make them symbols of the ocean’s mystery. Yet behind this serene image lies a struggle for survival. Populations have fallen sharply, and their biology makes recovery slow. The findings of a new study from Indonesian waters not only reveal the scale of human impacts but also highlight why protecting whale sharks is vital for ocean health. Whale shark decline accelerates Over the last 75...

casa-prefabricada-alternativa-vivienda-tradicional-espana-menos-

Up high in California's eastern Sierra Nevada, a mammal as light as two paper clips has been hustling under rocks and meadows, escaping every camera for more than a century. 



Earlier this winter, three college students strapped snowshoes to their backpacks and shouldered a simple goal: catch the ghost on film.



Their gamble paid off, yielding the first clear portraits of the Mount Lyell shrew and closing the only photographic blind spot in <a href="https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.101253/Sorex_lyelli" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">California’s mammal list</a>. 



The expedition teamed wildlife photographer Vishal Subramanyan of the <a href="https://www.calacademy.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">California Academy of Sciences</a> with undergraduate naturalists Prakrit Jain from <a href="https://www.berkeley.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">UC Berkeley</a> and Harper Forbes from the <a href="https://www.arizona.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Arizona</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-mount-lyell-shrew-in-the-wild">Mount Lyell shrew in the wild</h2>



The trio had set around 150 pitfall traps (plastic cups sunk flush with damp soil, baited with mealworms and cat food) and checked each cup every two hours through freezing nights.



After each session the students disinfected the traps and moved them a few yards to avoid recapturing the same individuals, a low-tech version of mark-recapture that minimized stress. 



The shuffle also built a broader map of where Lyell <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-shrews-and-other-tiny-creatures-have-superfast-heartbeats/">shrews</a> prowl between springs, sedges, and talus edges.



Over the course of three nights the team checked traps until the successful caught the Lyell. They reported measurements of barely 9 to 10 centimeters in length and 2 to 3 grams in weight. 



Tissue clips taken from the tip of the tail later confirmed the identity at the California Academy’s genetics lab.



“For every photo that we got in focus, we must have 10 or 20 photos where the shrew is running out of the frame,” admitted Jain after the trip. Although the catch came quickly, the photos did not.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-mount-lyell-shrew-camera-trap">Mount Lyell shrew camera trap</h2>



Unlike mice that can handle brief fasting, shrews burn food at a blistering rate, their <a href="https://www.mpg.de/14755962/shrews-metabolism-winter" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">metabolism</a> requires eating every hour or two. 



Leaving one stuck overnight could kill it, so the students slept in two-hour shifts while temperatures slid to 15°F.



That discipline spared all four species of the shrews they caught, an important ethical point because the species is so poorly studied that its maximum lifespan remains unknown. 



With each release the students watched the gray blur vanish into grass, confirming the animals were alert and unharmed.



When a trap sprung, they built a miniature studio: a white board for contrast, a terrarium stuffed with leaf litter, and a camera on rapid fire. 



The result is an image set that finally places a personality on what was only a skull in museum drawers.



Five Lyell <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/rats-and-shrews-living-close-together-trade-gut-bacteria/">shrews</a> and ten individuals from three related species cycled through this assembly line, each released a few minutes later at its capture spot. 



Every animal left with a small mealworm to offset the calorie debt of the impromptu photo shoot.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-shrews-slipped-past-cameras">Why shrews slipped past cameras</h2>



Shrews, although superficially mouse-like, belong to their own insect-eating order, and they favor damp tunnels hidden under alpine sedges. 



That combination of size, speed, and habitat has kept them invisible to standard wildlife surveys for decades.



Scientists suspect the shrew's ears cannot detect most <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/weasels-are-vanishing-or-are-they-just-too-sneaky-to-spot/">camera-trap</a> infrared flashes, so the animals never pause, further explaining the lack of historical images. 



Coupled with their habit of tunneling just beneath leaf litter, traditional motion sensors rarely trigger.



The Lyell species pushes secrecy further by occupying a slice of marshy high ground between 7,000 and 10,000 feet where few biologists linger after summer snowfalls. 



Previous museum specimens were collected only after the animals drowned in buckets set for other studies.



Photographs change that dynamic, field scientists can now train artificial-intelligence recognition models on real pelage patterns and search camera-trap archives for missed detections, a step impossible without a reference image.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-saving-the-mount-lyell-shrew">Saving the Mount Lyell shrew</h2>



Even with new publicity, the outlook for the Mount Lyell shrew (Sorex lyelli) is tight. 



UC Berkeley researchers project the shrew will lose 89 percent of its alpine wetland range by the 2080s if warming continues on its current path.



Modeling by state <a href="https://stewartecology.org/docs/CA%20MCCV/Stewart%20et%20al.%20-%202016%20-%20A%20Climate%20Change%20Vulnerability%20Assessment%20for%20Twenty%20California%20Mammal%20Taxa.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">biologists</a> shows that a 3°F rise in average summer temperature could lift the tree line into the sub-alpine fens the shrew occupies, drying those seeps within a couple of decades. That shift would push the species upslope toward bare granite with nowhere else to migrate.



The state has labeled the animal a “species of special concern,” a tier below endangered but still warranting monitoring. 



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Mount-Lyell-shrew_elusive-mammal-species_first-time-photograph_1m.jpg"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Mount-Lyell-shrew_elusive-mammal-species_first-time-photograph_1s.webp" alt="The Mount Lyell shrew. Photo Courtesy of Subramanyan, Jain, and Forbes" class="wp-image-1981082"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">The Mount Lyell shrew. Click image to enlarge. Photo Courtesy of Subramanyan, Jain, and Forbes</figcaption></figure>



Because the shrew’s range spans only about 35 square miles, a single wildfire or drought year could erase entire sub-populations.



Conservationists are using the fresh genetic samples to gauge diversity across that range, hoping to pinpoint refuges that stay cool and wet even during dry spells. 



Protecting those micro-pockets, they argue, may offer the quickest insurance policy for the shrew and the invertebrates it devours.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tiny-mammal-big-message">Tiny mammal, big message</h2>



“Nobody, not even us, really thought this was going to work, especially on our first try,” Subramanyan told a reporter once the images went public. He sees the photos as a recruitment poster for unglamorous wildlife.&nbsp;



Forbes, who studies public engagement, plans to turn their footage into a short video for classrooms, arguing that conservation begins with curiosity. 



He says younger viewers often latch onto small, quirky creatures more than majestic megafauna once they learn the role each plays in healthy soils.



Jain adds that hundreds of shrew <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/giant-species-joro-spiders-has-invaded-the-united-states-heres-what-to-look-for/">species</a> around the world sit in the same data void, known only from a single specimen or location. 



He hopes the Lyell success nudges more students to chase overlooked creatures before climate curves turn against them.



For now, the animal’s cameo has given scientists a living face to protect and has reminded Californians that even in a state wired with trail cameras, some stories still wait in the shadows.



Image credit: Vishal Subramanyan, Prakrit Jain, and Harper Forbes/University of California, Berkeley



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Students photograph an incredibly elusive mammal for the first time ever

Up high in California's eastern Sierra Nevada, a mammal as...

Not all meat-eating dinosaurs used the same tricks to bring down their prey. While they may look similar - big skulls, sharp teeth, and a terrifying presence - their bite strategies were very different.



In a new study, scientists at the <a href="https://www.bristol.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Bristol</a> analyzed 18 species of theropod dinosaurs that lived throughout the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dinosaurs-were-not-the-only-animals-that-grew-fast-during-the-mesozoic/">Mesozoic</a> Era.



These two-legged predators include some of the most famous names in dinosaur history: Tyrannosaurus rex, Giganotosaurus, and Spinosaurus. Despite their similar appearances, the way they hunted was far more varied than previously assumed.



“The feeding strategies of these top predators are more complex than we thought in the past,” said Fion Waisum Ma of the Beipiao Pterosaur Museum of China.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-blade-like-teeth-for-slicing">Blade-like teeth for slicing</h2>



To understand how these dinosaurs hunted, the researchers used 3D scans of fossilized skulls. They applied engineering methods that are normally used to test how bridges handle stress. The goal was to investigate how force traveled through the skull bones during a bite.



The researchers found that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/australia-had-huge-predatory-dinosaurs-during-the-late-jurassic/">Giganotosaurus</a> had an elongated skull lined with blade-like teeth designed more for slicing than smashing. Instead of crushing bone, it likely hunted by tearing large chunks of flesh from its prey.



Giganotosaurus’ thin, serrated teeth were “like a cross between a great white shark and a Komodo dragon,” said Eric Snively, associate professor of anatomy at Oklahoma State University.



Giganotosaurus lived in what’s now South America during the mid-Cretaceous period. It was one of the largest carnivorous dinosaurs ever discovered, possibly even rivaling T. rex in size. Some scientists believe it may have hunted large sauropods, possibly even in coordinated groups - though that part is still debated.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-dinosaur-built-for-water">A dinosaur built for water</h2>



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/spinosaurus-reveals-a-link-between-bone-density-and-hunting-underwater/">Spinosaurus</a>, on the other hand, had a very different lifestyle. Its teeth were conical and not built for slicing or crushing. Its long, narrow snout and retracted nostrils suggest it spent much of its time in or near water.



Spinosaurus was “like a fin-backed heron with the body of a wiener dog, and teeth like a crocodile,” said Snively.



These features point to a diet focused on aquatic prey. It likely snatched up massive fish and other water-dwelling animals, using its jaws more like a fishing spear than a typical predator’s bite.



Its body also supported this role: a long, possibly paddle-shaped tail, short hind limbs, and a sail-like structure on its back. Spinosaurus didn’t dominate on land the way T. rex or Giganotosaurus might have - but in its river systems, it was probably unmatched.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-ultimate-skull-smasher">The ultimate skull smasher</h2>



T. rex, though, was a different kind of predator, with a bite that wasn’t just powerful - it was extreme, thanks to its shorter, thicker skull and strong jaw muscles that allowed it to bite down with incredible force.



“It turns out, tyrannosaurs were biting so hard they were actually stressing their skulls more than we expected,” said Snively.



By comparing the skull structure and muscle attachment points with modern relatives like crocodiles and birds, the researchers discovered that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/t-rex-was-about-70-percent-bigger-than-we-thought/">T. rex</a> had one of the most intense bites of any land predator in history.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-survival-in-a-competitive-world">Survival in a competitive world</h2>



There may be a reason behind T. rex’s brutal efficiency. It wasn’t just about being big or strong - it was about surviving in a world packed with danger and competition.



“T-Rex lived later during the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/late-cretaceous-dinosaur-was-sluggish-and-nearly-deaf/">Late Cretaceous</a> Period, when hunting was highly competitive,” Ma said. That environment, she added, may have pushed it to develop a “unique feeding strategy.”



This may explain why T. rex evolved such an overbuilt skull and one of the most powerful bites ever recorded in a land animal. It needed to kill fast, defend kills from rivals, and even crush through bone to reach the nutrients inside. 



Unlike earlier theropods that relied more on speed or slashing, T. rex was built to finish the job. In an ecosystem where hesitation could mean losing a meal - or becoming one - T. rex didn’t just survive. It took control.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-dinosaur-skulls-and-hunting-strategies">Dinosaur skulls and hunting strategies </h2>



The study makes one thing clear: just because these dinosaurs shared a body plan doesn’t mean they hunted the same way. 



Some had teeth designed for slicing or crushing, while others were adapted for hunting in water. "Their behavior shouldn’t be thought of as ‘one size fits all,'” said Snively. 



This diversity makes sense considering that these predators lived in different eras and environments, hunting various kinds of prey. Each dinosaur evolved to fit its unique surroundings - and their skulls still reveal that story.



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(25)00811-5" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Current Biology</a>.



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Giant dinosaur skulls reveal unique hunting strategies

Not all meat-eating dinosaurs used the same tricks to bring...

A new hybrid fire ant is marching across the United States, and scientists say it can handle nearly any weather conditions or terrain that it encounters in the country.



Dubbed the "Frankenstein ant" by local residents, the invasive species is a cross between the red imported fire ant and the black imported fire ant and has now taken root in almost every state in the U.S.



“Right now, it just seems they are very adaptable, and that includes moving their nests further underground … to some degree outsmarting the environment,” said <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Amy-Michael" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Amy Michael</a>, an entomologist with the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (<a href="https://www.ncagr.gov/news/press-releases/2025/06/24/ncdacs-finds-spotted-lanternfly-caldwell-county" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NCDA&amp;CS</a>). 



Her warning comes as field teams from several universities confirm that the insect’s range is <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ants-are-shifting-to-new-habitats-to-cope-with-climate-change/">expanding faster</a> than any previous models predicted.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-from-southern-soil-to-mountain-chill">From southern soil to mountain chill</h2>



The first imported fire ants slipped into Mobile, Alabama, in the early 1900s and spread through the Gulf States before federal regulators declared a quarantine in <a href="https://www.aphis.usda.gov/plant-pests-diseases/ifa" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">1958</a>. 



As land warmed, the ants pushed north, filling every county in Georgia and Alabama and climbing into the Appalachian foothills.



<a href="https://cisr.ucr.edu/invasive-species/red-imported-fire-ant" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Hybrid colonies</a> have leapfrogged even farther, showing up 250 miles beyond the traditional fire ant frontier in less than a decade. 



Range mapping <a href="https://www.ars.usda.gov/southeast-area/gainesville-fl/cmave/imported-fire-ant-and-household-insects-research/docs/potential-united-states-range-expansion-of-the-invasive-fire-ant/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">studies</a> estimate that the insects now occupy more than 100,000 square miles of new territory since 2015.



Laboratory trials indicate that workers from mixed parentage survive two hours at 28 degrees Fahrenheit, twice the endurance of their red or black relatives. 



Researchers suspect that genes for membrane stability in cold cells hitchhiked across species lines, giving the offspring an all weather edge.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-inside-the-hybrid-ant-nest">Inside the hybrid ant nest</h2>



A mature hybrid ant nest can shelter half a million workers and dozens of queens, an arrangement scientists call <a href="https://www.hup.harvard.edu/books/9780674072404" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">polygyny</a>. 



Multiple queens mean the colony rebounds quickly after pesticide treatments, because killing one breeder rarely removes them all.



Eggs hatch in about a week, and larvae pass three molts before pupating into adults that can bite, sting, or reproduce. 



Winged males and females ride thermal updrafts every spring, drifting as far as twelve miles before founding new nests.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-stings-shocks-and-short-circuits">Stings, shocks, and short circuits</h2>



The venom packs an alkaloid called solenopsin that causes painful pustules and, in sensitive people, life threatening anaphylaxis. Doctors in fire ant counties report that about five percent of sting victims need emergency care.



Livestock suffer too: newborn calves, foals, and chicks can be blinded or suffocated when <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-is-destabilizing-ant-plant-relationships/">ants</a> mob birthing sites, and poultry producers lose thousands of eggs each year as foraging workers chew through shells. 



Electric utilities spend millions replacing transformers and junction boxes after ants bridge contacts with their bodies.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-this-hybrid-ant-matters">Why this hybrid ant matters</h2>



Geneticists use the term “heterosis” to describe the extra punch hybrids often display. “[O]nce you introduce a species to a new place, anything can really happen,” added <a href="https://www.ento.vt.edu/people/Faculty0/Yang.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Scotty Yang</a>, an invasive ant specialist at <a href="https://www.vt.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Virginia Tech</a>.



Cold endurance is only one advantage. Mixed colonies out forage single species nests by about thirty percent in cage trials, converting protein into brood more quickly and swelling their ranks during long growing seasons.



The ants thrive in pine barrens, soybean rows, and suburban lawns, while red ants prefer open fields and black ants linger near water. Flexibility means almost any patch of disturbed ground can become a launchpad for the next wave.



Average winter lows in the southern Appalachians have risen about 2.5 degrees Fahrenheit since 1980, enough to push the frost line higher into the mountains. Warmer soil shortens the brood rearing pause that once kept colonies small through December and January.



El Niño years bring extra rainfall that softens clay pans, allowing queens to tunnel deeper and escape lethal freezes. 



The same storms wash loose soil into roadside ditches, perfect sites for founding nests that vehicles later move across state lines.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-managing-the-menace">Managing the menace</h2>



Because the ants travel in nursery <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-is-destabilizing-ant-plant-relationships/">plants</a>, sod, and hay bales, regulators use a patchwork of state and federal quarantines to slow the spread. 



Inspectors look for telltale soil pellets and require producers to treat stock with certified baits before shipping.



Homeowners inside quarantine zones can protect pets and children by broadcasting <a href="https://npic.orst.edu/factsheets/hydragen.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">hydramethylnon</a> granules when daily highs top 65 degrees Fahrenheit. Professionals follow up ten days later with a mound drench to reach queens that survive the first pass.



Agricultural operators often alternate growth regulating baits with faster acting spinosad to avoid resistance. Surveillance never stops, and many ranchers walk pastures each month, flagging fresh mounds for treatment.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-you-can-do-today">What you can do today</h2>



Check trailers, flowerpots, and birdhouses before moving them even a few miles, because a single queen and a handful of workers can start a new infestation. Shake off loose soil, rinse equipment, and seal crates to deny the ants a free ride.



Planting native groundcovers such as blue lupine and switchgrass shades soil, lowering <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ocean-temperatures-are-rising-faster-than-expected-and-likely-to-accelerate/">temperatures</a> and moisture swings that favor mound building. 



Neighborhood groups can pool resources, hiring certified applicators to treat large common areas at once.



If you find a suspected Frankenstein ant nest outside the quarantine, collect a tablespoon of workers in rubbing alcohol and contact the <a href="https://cnas.ucr.edu/about/cooperative-extension" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Cooperative Extension office at UCR</a>. Early reports help scientists map the invasion front and guide education campaigns.



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Warning issued for an invasive 'Frankenstein' hybrid insect that harms plants and humans

A new hybrid fire ant is marching across the United...

Climate change is altering life at every scale, from ice caps to insect wings. But beyond the well-known shifts in temperature and weather patterns, there is another, less obvious change underway. 



A new study published in the journal National Science Review&nbsp;reveals that rising levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) are scrambling the reproductive instincts of one of the world’s most destructive agricultural pests - the cotton bollworm (Helicoverpa armigera).



By throwing off these insects’ ability to select the best egg-laying sites, the shift could ripple through ecosystems, affect food security, and rewrite pest management <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/insects-are-still-disappearing-and-there-are-hundreds-of-reasons-why/">strategies</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-co2-matters-to-insects">Why CO2 matters to insects</h2>



Insects have survived mass extinctions, ice ages, and volcanic winters thanks to their adaptability. Yet their fine-tuned sensory systems make them vulnerable to environmental <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/urbanization-causes-massive-decline-in-insect-pollinators/">shifts</a>. Many species use chemical cues to locate food, mates, or egg-laying spots.



For&nbsp;H. armigera, CO2 is not just background atmosphere - it is a guidepost. Female moths can detect tiny differences in plant-emitted CO2, homing in on younger leaves that produce slightly more of the gas. These leaves tend to offer better nutrition for developing larvae.



From 1750 to 2023, atmospheric CO2 climbed from 278 parts per million (ppm) to about 420 ppm, largely due to human activity. Scientists now project levels could reach 1000 ppm by 2100. The concern is that such a jump may overwhelm insects’ CO2 “signal,” replacing a clear guide with confusing noise.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-young-leaves-give-off-more-co2">Young leaves give off more CO2</h2>



The research team - led by experts at the <a href="https://www.caas.cn/en/">Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences</a> - began by confirming the bollworm’s preference for young cotton leaves. 



In semi-natural enclosures, mated females deposited the majority of their eggs on these tender leaves rather than older ones.



The choice is not cosmetic. Larvae feeding on young leaves had higher survival rates, longer bodies, and greater weights after a week compared to those on older leaves. Measurements showed young leaves emitted about 200 ppm more CO2 than mature <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/modern-farming-is-causing-many-insect-species-to-collapse/">leaves</a> - a signal strong enough for moths to track.



This makes evolutionary sense: laying eggs where food is fresh and nutritious boosts the odds of offspring survival, a fundamental driver of insect behavior.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-high-co2-confuses-moths">High CO2 confuses moths</h2>



Researchers grew cotton and bollworms in normal and high CO2. At high CO2, females lost their strong preference for young leaves.



Instead, moths laid more eggs on older leaves - less nutritious sites that could compromise larval health. 



“This disruption is akin to confusing a key olfactory cue from a GPS system,” said study co-author Professor Guirong Wang. “Without accurate CO2 signals, the insects struggle to find ideal egg-laying sites, which could affect pest population dynamics and agricultural <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/rising-heat-shrinking-habitats-insects-face-hidden-threats/">damage</a>.”



Only mated females reacted to CO2 in experiments. Virgin females and males detected it but did not act on it, hinting that hormonal or brain-level changes shape how the signal is used.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-moths-have-three-co2-sensors">Moths have three CO2 sensors</h2>



The bollworm’s CO2 sense comes from three gustatory receptor genes - HarmGR1, HarmGR2, and HarmGR3 - expressed in a small sensory organ called the labial palp. From there, nerve signals travel to a specific processing center in the brain called the labial pit organ glomerulus.



While many insects use just two CO2 receptors,&nbsp;H. armigera&nbsp;needs all three. The team used CRISPR/Cas9 to delete each receptor individually. Any loss broke the insect’s ability to respond to CO2, both in lab tests and in naturalistic settings.



Interestingly, receptor loss did not change the total number of eggs laid - just where they were placed. Mutant moths spread their eggs more randomly, ignoring the young leaves they would normally target.



The trimeric receptor setup may give bollworms finer sensitivity to different CO2 concentrations. This could be an evolutionary edge in complex environments where atmospheric and plant-emitted CO2 levels fluctuate.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-insects-use-more-than-co2">Insects use more than CO2</h2>



Even without CO2 detection, mutant moths showed a faint preference for young leaves. That suggests other cues - perhaps smell, taste, touch, or even visual signals - help guide oviposition. The redundancy makes sense; in nature, relying on one sense can be risky.



Still, CO2 appears to be a major driver. Its disruption could throw insect reproductive strategies out of alignment with the environments their larvae need to thrive.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ecological-stakes-beyond-cotton-fields">Ecological stakes beyond cotton fields</h2>



H. armigera&nbsp;feeds on over 200 plants and causes huge crop losses. Lower reproduction might reduce larvae, but pests can adapt or spread, making outcomes uncertain for farmers.



On a larger scale, altered oviposition behavior could affect the balance between pests, their predators, and pollinators. 



Changes in plant chemistry under high CO2 - such as shifts in volatile compounds - could compound these effects, influencing not just bollworms but entire insect communities.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-blocking-co2-sense-in-insects">Blocking CO2 sense in insects </h2>



For decades, scientists have explored ways to manipulate insect senses to manage populations. CO2 is already used to lure mosquitoes and soil pests into traps. The bollworm’s reliance on CO2 for oviposition opens a similar door.



“By targeting the CO2 receptors, we can explore novel, eco-friendly pest control strategies,” said Dr. Qiuyan Cheng, first author of the study. 



One promising approach is RNA interference (RNAi), which can silence specific genes. Disabling CO2 receptors could make bollworms misplace their eggs, reducing their impact without pesticides.



Such strategies would need to be carefully tested to avoid unintended consequences for non-target species and ecosystems. But as chemical pesticides lose effectiveness due to resistance, sensory-based controls are gaining appeal.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-climate-change-as-a-sensory-disruptor">Climate change as a sensory disruptor</h2>



This study adds to a growing body of evidence that climate change does not just push species poleward or alter breeding seasons - it can fundamentally interfere with how animals perceive their world. 



For insects, whose survival often depends on chemical cues, this could be especially disruptive.



As atmospheric CO2 heads toward unprecedented levels, the signals insects evolved to follow may become unreliable. That means adaptation will be essential - for insects, ecosystems, and agriculture.



For the cotton bollworm, a scrambled CO2 compass might lead to lower reproductive success, but it could also drive unpredictable shifts in where and how it attacks crops. 



For farmers and ecologists, understanding these sensory changes will be key to anticipating future pest pressures.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://academic.oup.com/nsr/advance-article/doi/10.1093/nsr/nwaf270/8196188" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">National Science Review</a>.



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How rising CO2 levels threaten insect reproduction

Climate change is altering life at every scale, from ice...

Lions have shared the world with us for thousands of years, roaring through our myths, flags, and countless stories. 



On World Lion Day 2025, we’re reminded that they need more than admiration - they need protection. The survival of lions now depends on the choices we make and the actions we take.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-lions-keep-nature-in-balance">Lions keep nature in balance</h2>



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/lions-and-hyenas-change-behavior-when-tourists-are-nearby/p">Lions</a> are more than hunters. They control herbivore numbers, protect grasslands, and keep ecosystems healthy. Remove them and you create chaos - prey populations explode, plants disappear, and other species struggle to survive.



They also stand out among big cats for their social lives. A pride works together to hunt, defend territory, and raise cubs. Without those bonds, they can’t survive.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-lions-face-many-threats">Lions face many threats</h2>



Wild lions face shrinking space. Farms, towns, and roads eat away at their range. When they go after livestock, the response is often a bullet. Poachers target them for trophies. Climate change makes prey harder to find.



In some places, numbers have fallen by half within a few decades. For a species once spread across Africa, Asia, and Europe, that’s a sharp and dangerous decline.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-lions-need-to-survive">What lions need to survive</h2>



Researchers are learning that a lion’s social life plays a bigger role in survival than anyone expected.



A <a href="https://www.ox.ac.uk" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Oxford</a> team studied over 30 years of Serengeti lions. They found that females’ bonds with other females drop steadily with age, while males reconnect more with other males later in life. 



The pattern matters - females with strong friendships live longer, and males with bigger networks <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/male-and-female-lions-have-different-social-strategies-for-survival/">survive longer too</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-conflict-and-changing-ecosystems">Conflict and changing ecosystems </h2>



In Namibia, <a href="https://www.uga.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Georgia</a> scientists tracked human-lion conflict around Etosha National Park. From 1980 to 2018, 698 lions were killed outside its borders. 



The park acts as a safe zone, but nearby lands are what researchers call an “ecological trap.” <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/can-lions-and-farmers-coexist-experts-are-cautiously-optimistic/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Lions</a> leave for prey and water - and meet armed farmers instead. Young males are hit hardest.



Another study from the <a href="https://www.adelaide.edu.au/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Adelaide</a> looked far back in time. Fossil DNA showed how climate change pushed lions out of parts of North America long before humans were involved. 



Warming altered vegetation, herbivores died off, and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-led-ancient-lions-and-bears-to-extinction/">predators</a> followed. The lesson is that ecosystems can shift fast, and predators struggle to adapt. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-action-on-world-lion-day-2025">Action on World Lion Day 2025</h2>



In Africa today, conservationists and communities are working to keep lions wild. Protected reserves and wildlife corridors give them space to move. Eco-tourism, when run well, gives local people an income and a reason to protect lions instead of kill them.



Because lions cross national borders, many projects link multiple countries. Survival depends on that kind of cooperation.



You don’t have to travel to Africa to make a difference for lions. Start by supporting wildlife groups that work directly on lion conservation. 



Many of these organizations fund anti-poaching patrols, restore habitats, and help local communities live safely alongside lions. Your donation, no matter the size, can help keep rangers in the field and give prides a fighting chance.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-awareness-can-create-change">Awareness can create change</h2>



You can also use your voice. Share news articles, documentaries, or even personal posts on social media to spark conversations about the threats lions face. Awareness creates pressure for change - and it can inspire others to take action too.



If you plan to visit a country where lions live, look into where your travel money will go. Choose safaris and tours that follow ethical practices, employ local people, and reinvest in conservation. 



Responsible tourism can bring in vital funds and give communities more reason to protect lions rather than hunt them.



Every action counts. The more people who understand the pressures on lions, the stronger the support for solutions - and the better their chances of surviving in the wild.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-future-is-uncertain">The future is uncertain</h2>



If lions disappear from the wild, the loss will be far greater than a single species. We will be losing an animal that has shaped human culture for thousands of years, appearing in ancient carvings, religious symbols, and national emblems. 



To survive, lions need vast, connected landscapes that are free from the constant threat of poaching and human-wildlife conflict. They depend on healthy ecosystems, where their role as apex predators keeps nature in balance. 



Protecting lions means safeguarding entire habitats - and the countless other species that share them. Their absence would leave a gap in nature that no other species could fill. It would also mark a failure to protect one of the planet’s most iconic predators.



Future generations would grow up knowing lions only from pictures, books, and recordings instead of seeing them roam the grasslands or hearing their calls at night.



On World Lion Day 2025, the choice is clear and urgent. We must decide whether the roar of the lion remains a living sound in the wild or fades into something remembered only from the past.



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World Lion Day 2025: The science of survival

Lions have shared the world with us for thousands of...

Humans and dogs share a very old story, but the plot is changing. Instead of wolves taming themselves on the edges of camps, a growing body of evidence points to people taking very young wolf pups and raising them.



This shift matters because it ties the origin of dogs to choices our ancestors made, not just to wolves hanging around. It casts <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/hungry-wild-boars-the-surprising-story-of-pig-domestication/">domestication</a> as a long, hands-on relationship that began deep in prehistory.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-raising-pups-for-generations">Raising pups for generations</h2>



The human-initiated model argues that hunter-gatherers routinely collected pre weaned pups, socialized them in camp, and, over generations, favored the friendliest <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/from-wolves-to-dogs-did-domestication-begin-without-human-help/">animals</a>.



The human initiated model is supported by research from the Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution at Griffith University (<a href="https://www.griffith.edu.au/research/sciences/australian-research-centre-human-evolution" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ARCHE</a>), the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (<a href="https://eurogoos.eu/member/royal-belgian-institute-of-natural-sciences/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">RBINS</a>), the <a href="https://www.sydney.edu.au/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Sydney</a>, and the Australian National University (<a href="https://www.anu.edu.au/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ANU</a>).&nbsp;



Their work suggests that early mobile foragers in Late Pleistocene Eurasia may have routinely taken very young wolf pups from wild dens. 



These ancient humans socialized the pups within their camps and gradually favored animals that were more suited to living alongside humans.



A present day anchor helps frame the scale of human-dog relations. About 70 percent of the world’s dogs roam freely, showing most still live outside pet households.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-dogs-lived-with-humans-early">Dogs lived with humans early</h2>



Dog-like skulls from the Pleistocene push the association between people and canids well before the advent of farming. 



One striking case comes from Goyet Cave in Belgium, where a dog like cranium dated to roughly 36,000 to 31,700 years ago shows features unlike typical wolves.



Another specimen from Razboinichya Cave in Siberia, about 33,000 years old, has been described as an incipient dog and later supported by ancient DNA work.



These early finds do not replace the well-known Late Glacial dog from Bonn-Oberkassel, Germany, buried with humans about 14,200 years ago. However, they do show that dog-like canids lived alongside people long before villages appeared.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-people-tamed-friendly-wolf-pups">People tamed friendly wolf pups </h2>



Wolves are born blind and only open their eyes around two weeks, a window when handling can shape later behavior in powerful ways.



Modern work also shows that hand reared wolves can form strong attachments to human caregivers, a trait that would have made pup raising workable for ancient foragers.



This approach differs from the old self-domestication story, which leans on <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/domesticating-wild-plants-may-result-in-more-resilient-crops/">scavenging</a> at trash heaps. It posits active care, repeated selection, and, eventually, breeding among tamer canids close to camp.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-food-and-friendship-leave-traces">Food and friendship leave traces</h2>



Biochemistry and tooth wear offer a check on the behavioral story. Stable isotope analyses from the Gravettian megasite of Předmostí show that dog-like canids ate more reindeer and muskox. 



Wolves, by contrast, consumed more mammoth - a pattern suggesting humans fed dogs leaner cuts and bones.



Dental microwear texture analysis at the same site finds distinct chewing signatures between wolf and dog like groups, again hinting at different food sources and roles near people.



These data do not prove domestication on their own. They show that some large canids associated with humans were eating differently and using their teeth differently than nearby wolves.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-pup-raising-traditions-continue">Pup raising traditions continue</h2>



Ethnography from Australia adds a living analogy. Aboriginal communities long practiced taking dingo pups from dens, nursing them in camp, and later letting many disperse as they matured. It's a cycle that could still shape the genetics of nearby free living canids over time.



This pattern answers a key objection. Even if many socialized animals left camp at breeding age, people often took new pups from dens in the border zone between camps and wild territories. Over time, this practice could shape which pups became companions the next season.



Over many generations, that habit can favor lines with calmer temperaments and stronger <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/tickled-rats-reveal-how-human-animal-bonds-form-in-the-brain/">human bonds</a> without a fenced kennel or a permanent village. It is a cultural practice with biological consequences.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-wolf-pups-were-early-companions">Wolf pups were early companions</h2>



Archaeology also records emotional closeness before formal domestication. A 16,000-plus-year-old grave in Jordan holds a human burial with a <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0015815" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">red fox</a>, signaling that some foragers kept carnivores as companions or ritual partners well before agriculture.



Scale helps the process. Seasonal aggregation camps with abundant food would have increased contact with socialized canids, boosted the odds of nearby den re-use, and made it easier to find pups again.



Seen together, the timeline in the bones, the chemistry in the collagen, the wear in the teeth, and the logic of pup raising hang together. 



People did not wait for wolves to wander in, they went out each spring and chose their companions.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1082338/full" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Frontiers in Psychology</a>.



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Early humans turned wolf pups into the first domesticated dogs

Humans and dogs share a very old story, but the...

They clean the ocean floor, support biodiversity, and are disappearing fast. Sea cucumbers are slow and sedate, but crucial to ocean health.&nbsp;They are also in demand as a food source in various countries.



A recent study on captive farmed sea cucumbers has revealed that feeding them the right nutrients, like Vitamin E, might protect their health and promote immunity.&nbsp;



<a href="https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vitamins-and-minerals/vitamin-e/#:~:text=Vitamin%20E%20is%20a%20group,in%20cereals%20and%20cereal%20product" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Vitamin E</a> boosts collagen production and strengthens the body's antioxidant defenses. This helps maintain a healthy gut and supports safer, more sustainable cultivation of juveniles, called seedlings.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-sea-cucumbers-need-care">Why sea cucumbers need care</h2>



The Japanese spiky sea cucumber, scientifically named Apostichopus japonicus, is an important marine resource that has seen rising demand. However, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/overfishing-and-habitat-degradation-have-devastated-marine-ecosystems/">overfishing</a> has reduced their natural populations, upsetting the balance of the marine ecosystem.&nbsp;



Farming sea cucumbers can help reduce strain on wild populations. The cultivation of juveniles is known as "<a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/seedling-production" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">seedling" cultivation</a> because the planktonic larvae resemble small seedlings. 



Growing seedlings in captivity ensures a stable supply of young sea cucumbers and reduces the need to harvest them from the wild.



Sea cucumbers lack an advanced immune system and rely on their innate or <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/common-colds-boost-childrens-immunity-against-severe-covid/">built-in immune</a> defenses. Farmers often use antibiotics to treat infections during cultivation. However, frequent antibiotic use can lead to <a href="https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/21655-antibiotic-resistance" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">resistance</a>. 



The residual antibiotics may also pollute the environment and pose serious risks to food safety. This has led scientists to search for safer and smarter strategies.



Researchers now focus on improving immunity by feeding them proper nutrients, instead of depending on <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/antibiotic-resistance-could-cause-a-health-crisis-globally/">antibiotics</a>. One key player in this scenario is Vitamin E (VE), which is a fat-soluble vitamin.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-nodal-gene-links-immunity-and-repair">Nodal gene links immunity and repair</h2>



For the study, researchers turned their attention to collagen, since it is needed for a healthy gut wall. It provides physical support to the epithelial cells and helps in adhesion and alignment.



Collagen establishes a stable environment around the cell, called the extracellular matrix, that facilitates epithelial cell adhesion, migration, and renewal. All of these are key to tissue regeneration.&nbsp;



One major pathway for collagen synthesis is the transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) pathway. TGF-β is a family of signaling proteins that includes the key gene Nodal.&nbsp;



Nodal stands out due to its ability to regulate inflammation and immune function. Not just that, it helps in the proliferation of fibroblasts, the cells responsible for forming collagen.&nbsp;This suggests that Nodal may play a vital role in tissue repair by kick-starting collagen production.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-vitamin-e-benefits-hinge-on-nodal">Vitamin E benefits hinge on Nodal</h2>



The researchers analyzed the role of Vitamin E and the Nodal gene in enhancing the health of sea cucumbers. 



Researchers used RNA interference (RNAi), which switches off specific genes, to silence the Nodal gene in experimental animals.



They fed juvenile sea cucumbers with 200 mg/kg of Vitamin E and observed significant improvement in growth, gut structure, and immunity. But when researchers silenced the Nodal gene, these benefits declined sharply.&nbsp;



The drop was particularly pronounced in sea cucumbers that did not receive Vitamin E in their diet. Interestingly, in those that received the vitamin, these negative effects were partially buffered, even with the gene silenced.&nbsp;



This suggested that Vitamin E enhanced the antioxidant defense mechanism and collagen synthesis through a Nodal-dependent pathway.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-vitamin-e-builds-gut-defenses">How Vitamin E builds gut defenses</h2>



In recent years, scientists have recognized the intestine as a front-line player in immune regulation. A <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/gut-microbes-could-be-the-secret-to-better-health/">healthy gut</a> is the body's first line of defense against pathogens.&nbsp;



Researchers often look at the height and width of <a href="https://www.cancer.gov/publications/dictionaries/cancer-terms/def/intestinal-villi" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">villi</a> - the finger-like projections in the gut - and the thickness of the mucosal layer to assess the health of the gut. An intact gut lining and well-developed villi form a strong shield against infection.



Studies have shown that VE supplementation improved gut structure in various aquatic animals. For instance, it increased the villus height and mucosal thickness in <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5740713/#:~:text=Channel%20catfish%20require%20relatively%20high,inhibits%20fish%20growth%20(17)." target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">channel catfish</a>. Similarly, in <a href="https://www.e-fas.org/archive/view_article?pid=fas-28-2-86" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Pompano</a>, it boosted the height, width, and surface area of the villi.&nbsp;



For a stable gut lining, the epithelial cells should be tightly packed and arranged in an orderly way, with strong intercellular tight junctions (TJs). 



These junctions rely on strong support from the villi. <a href="https://journals.biologists.com/jcs/article/137/9/jcs261776/347159/A-short-guide-to-the-tight-junction" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">TJs</a> are mainly composed of collagen-rich connective tissue. 



To understand how this collagen framework holds together, researchers examined the role of the Nodal gene.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Vitamin E as an antibiotic alternative</h2>



This study highlighted the importance of targeted nutrition in improving the gut health of sea cucumbers. 



Vitamin E offers a safer alternative to the use of antibiotics in the cultivation of healthy sea cucumbers, and possibly other forms of aquaculture.



It opens up new possibilities for supporting tissue regeneration and overall resilience in farmed sea cucumbers. 



Future research should explore how other dietary immune boosters might interact and contribute to gut function in this species. 



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2079-7737/14/8/1008" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Biology</a>.



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Study finds Vitamin E is the key to saving sea cucumbers from extinction

They clean the ocean floor, support biodiversity, and are disappearing...

In many animal societies, individuals of one sex, or sometimes both, eventually leave their birth group to join another. In a smaller number of species, including humans and gorillas, individuals can change between groups multiple times. 



This process, known as dispersal, helps avoid inbreeding, spreads genetic diversity, and shapes social bonds. But how do individuals decide where to go?



A new study from the University of Zurich offers rare insight, thanks to over 20 years of continuous monitoring of wild mountain <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/female-gorillas-rely-on-old-friends-to-choose-new-homes/">gorillas</a> in Rwanda by the <a href="https://gorillafund.org/">Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund</a>. 



The findings reveal a surprising mix of instinct, memory, and social intelligence guiding these life-changing moves.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-female-gorillas-dodge-certain-males">Female gorillas dodge certain males </h2>



The research shows that female gorillas do not move at random. Group size or sex ratio didn’t seem to sway them. Instead, past social experiences shaped their choices. 



Females consistently avoided joining groups that included males they had grown up with, and sought out females they already knew.



Study lead author Victoire Martignac is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Evolutionary Anthropology at the <a href="https://www.uzh.ch/en.html">University of Zurich</a>.



“Because female mountain <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/gorillas-adjust-their-aggression-based-on-risk-and-reward/">gorillas</a> do not know with certainty who their fathers are, they might rely on a simple rule like ‘avoid any group with males I grew up with’ as the likelihood of them being related will be higher than with males they did not grow up with,” said Martignac.



Interestingly, this rule isn’t about mere familiarity - it’s about context. Because females can disperse multiple times, they will become familiar with many males from different groups, noted Martignac. 



“Yet, when choosing their next group, they only avoid males they grew up with. This really tells us that it’s not just who they know that matters but how they know them.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-females-follow-old-friends">Females follow old friends</h2>



Even more important than avoiding certain males was the draw of known female <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mountain-gorillas-climb-trees-despite-their-massive-size/">companions</a>. A shared history appeared to make the daunting leap into a new gorilla group less intimidating.



“Going into a new group could feel pretty scary, with individuals usually entering at the bottom of the social hierarchy. A familiar female might help reduce this, providing a social ally,” said Dr. Robin Morrison, senior author of the study.



“It could also act like a recommendation from a friend - if a female they know has chosen to stay in this group, it could indicate positive things about the group as a whole or the dominant male leading that group.”



The most influential relationships were those where females had spent at least five years together and had seen each other in the past two years. 



“Investing in these relationships clearly matters. Spatial separation can be ephemeral with individuals being reunited in the future, easing the difficult process of starting over in a new social group,” said Dr. Morrison.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-gorilla-bonds-last-across-groups">Gorilla bonds last across groups</h2>



These patterns show that dispersal among gorillas is not only about survival and reproduction. It also helps maintain <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/are-gorillas-self-aware-new-research-challenges-old-assumptions/">connections</a> that may have formed years earlier. 



The fact that individuals move multiple times, and that groups often overlap and interact, means social bonds can extend far beyond immediate companions. This trait is strikingly similar to human societies, where close ties can persist across different communities.



“This is a reminder of the meaningfulness of social relationships kept across boundaries and how this extended network of relationships might have played a key role in the evolution of larger and more cooperative societies,” the researchers noted.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-gorillas-avoid-inbreeding">How gorillas avoid inbreeding </h2>



Understanding these subtle decision-making patterns isn’t just a fascinating scientific insight - it could influence how conservation programs are designed. 



If female gorillas rely on past relationships and familiarity to choose new groups, relocating or protecting these networks could help ensure healthier populations.



By preserving both the habitats and the social structures of these animals, conservationists can support not just their survival, but their well-being.



The research offers a rare glimpse into how memory, trust, and social preference guide one of the most important decisions in a gorilla’s life - when and where to start anew.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2025.0223" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences</a>.



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Mountain gorillas have their own strategy to avoid inbreeding

In many animal societies, individuals of one sex, or sometimes...

A tidy textbook definition of life has never existed, yet most biology lessons still lean on the idea that living things must grow, make energy, and reproduce on their own. 



That simple checklist leaves <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/herpes-virus-reshapes-human-dna-to-multiply/">viruses</a> outside the club, since their genetic shells activate only inside another organism and go dormant again when drifting alone.



<a href="https://scholar.google.ca/citations?user=Dti8reUAAAAJ&amp;hl=en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ryo Harada</a> of <a href="https://www.dal.ca/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Dalhousie University</a> and colleagues discovered a creature that forces us to redraw those lines on the fly. 



Their oddball microbe, provisionally named Sukunaarchaeum mirabile, was hiding in DNA scraped from a single plankton species off the Japanese coast.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-sukunaarchaeum-virus-line-blurs">Sukunaarchaeum virus line blurs</h2>



Biologists once leaned on André Lwoff’s dictum that “an organism is constituted of cells.” That rule pushed viruses into a separate realm of particles.



That neat boundary already looked wobbly when giant viruses surfaced in the early 2000s, flaunting genomes larger than some bacteria.



Sukunaarchaeum muddies the waters further. It is undeniably cellular, yet its playbook borrows many viral tricks. It retains the genes for building its own ribosomes and messenger RNA - parts no virus carries - but appears to outsource nearly every other task to a host cell.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-record-breaking-small-genome">A record-breaking small genome</h2>



The new organism’s entire genome fits into 238,000 base pairs - roughly the length of a medium-sized magazine article. 



For comparison, the minimalist archaeon Nanoarchaeum equitans holds the previous cellular record at about 490,000 base pairs, already microscopic by prokaryotic standards.



Viruses can be both larger and smaller, yet they never lug around the full toolkit for <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ribosomal-cooperativity-that-prevents-pauses-in-protein-synthesis-observed-for-the-first-time/">protein synthesis</a>. That is why Harada’s team calls Sukunaarchaeum “a cellular entity retaining only its replicative core.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-virus-like-microbe-emerges">A virus-like microbe emerges</h2>



“Its genome is profoundly stripped-down, lacking virtually all recognizable metabolic pathways, and primarily encoding the machinery for its replicative core: <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/junk-dna-found-to-play-a-powerful-role-in-the-human-body/">DNA</a> replication, transcription, and translation,” wrote Harada and co-authors in their report. 



The code resembles a viral instruction manual more than a self-sufficient microbe.



Yet the creature sits within Archaea, one of the three great domains of life - not among viruses. Phylogenetic trees place it on a deep branch so distant from known groups that the authors propose creating a new phylum.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-sukunaarchaeum-and-borrowed-genes">Sukunaarchaeum and borrowed genes</h2>



The team stumbled on the microbe while sequencing DNA from the <a href="https://ocean.si.edu/ocean-life/plankton/dinoflagellate" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">dinoflagellate</a> Citharistes regius. Nested in that plankton’s genetic debris was a tight loop of foreign DNA that refused to match any catalogued species.



Marine symbiosis can be intimate: some plankton rely on bacterial partners for vitamins, while others house entire algal cells that photosynthesize for them. 



Sukunaarchaeum appears to take this intimacy to the extreme, shaving off every gene it can afford to lose and leaning on its host for nearly everything else a cell needs to stay alive.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-redrawing-the-tree-of-life">Redrawing the tree of life</h2>



Because its ribosomal genes remain intact, the organism qualifies as cellular under the classic molecular litmus test.



Yet its pared-down metabolism likely prevents it from harvesting nutrients, producing ATP, or fixing carbon without help - behaviors normally reserved for viral passengers.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/sukunaarchaeum_organism-defies-definition-of-life-discovery_1m.jpg"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/sukunaarchaeum_organism-defies-definition-of-life-discovery_1s.webp" alt="Phylogenetic analyses place Sukunaarchaeum as a deeply branching lineage within the tree of Archaea, representing a novel major branch distinct from established phyla. Environmental sequence data indicate that sequences closely related to Sukunaarchaeum form a diverse and previously overlooked clade in microbial surveys. Credit: JSPS" class="wp-image-1980869"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Phylogenetic analyses place Sukunaarchaeum as a deeply branching lineage within the tree of Archaea, representing a novel major branch distinct from established phyla. Environmental sequence data indicate that sequences closely related to Sukunaarchaeum form a diverse and previously overlooked clade in microbial surveys. Click image to enlarge. Credit: JSPS</figcaption></figure>



Scientists debate whether life is a binary label or a spectrum; Sukunaarchaeum pushes the spectrum view to the forefront. 



The find suggests that many other stealth lineages may be hiding in environmental sequencing data, dismissed as contaminants or viral oddities.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-defining-the-meaning-of-alive">Defining the meaning of "alive"</h2>



Words such as “alive” steer funding, public health policy, and even planetary protection rules for space probes. 



If more organisms like Sukunaarchaeum exist, biosecurity protocols that screen only for free-living microbes could miss entire classes of symbiotic parasites.



The discovery also sharpens a practical question: What genetic load is the bare minimum for a cell to function? <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-tiny-artificial-cells-can-keep-perfect-time-for-days/">Synthetic biology</a> groups pursuing engineered minimal cells may mine this archaeon’s blueprint for clues.



“The discovery of Sukunaarchaeum pushes the conventional boundaries of cellular life and highlights the vast unexplored biological novelty within <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/microbial-vault-the-race-to-save-earths-disappearing-microbes/">microbial</a> interactions,” wrote the researchers. 



Harada’s team suspects that extreme genome pruning evolved because the host environment guaranteed nutrients, letting redundant pathways decay.&nbsp;



Paleobiologists see a glimpse of early evolution, when ancient cells likely shared genes and resources more freely than today. 



If so, today’s viruses and streamlined symbionts may echo an ancient lifestyle rather than representing biological outliers.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-sukunaarchaeum-may-not-be-alone">Sukunaarchaeum may not be alone</h2>



Scientists plan to investigate whether similar organisms exist in other marine ecosystems or symbiotic relationships. 



These searches may involve reanalyzing existing metagenomic databases that could contain overlooked sequences resembling Sukunaarchaeum.



Another goal is to identify the specific host that enables Sukunaarchaeum to survive. 



Without knowing its exact partner, researchers can't fully explain how the symbiosis functions or what evolutionary pressures shaped such an extreme dependency.



The study is published in <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.05.02.651781v1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">bioRxiv</a>.



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Scientists discover an organism that defies the definition of life

A tidy textbook definition of life has never existed, yet...

Families leave fingerprints on voices in every culture, yet few researchers had checked if that pattern holds with wild chimpanzee mothers and their offspring. 



A new field study says it does, and the clue is in the way apes braid sounds with tiny shifts of body and gaze.



The authors spent months with one Ugandan community and discovered that a youngster’s communication “accent” almost always matches the maternal line, not the paternal one. 



<a href="https://www.iea.uzh.ch/en/members/guestresearchers/josephmine.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Joseph Mine</a> of the <a href="https://www.uzh.ch/en.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Zurich</a> and colleagues report the <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3003270" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">findings</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-studying-chimps-and-their-mothers">Studying chimps and their mothers</h2>



The research unfolded in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kibale_National_Park" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Kibale National Park</a>, a mosaic of rainforest and grassland covering about six square miles of chimp range. 



Twenty-two <a href="https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Pan_troglodytes/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Pan troglodytes</a> older than ten were followed from dawn to dusk while observers captured every vocalization on high-definition video.



Grunts, pant hoots, barks, and whimpers by <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/world-chimpanzee-day-2025-protecting-our-closest-relatives/">chimps</a> and their mothers were cataloged alongside arm waves, posture changes, and eye direction, generating over one hundred distinct vocal-visual pairings. Custom software then counted combinations from 210 communication events.



Bouts could last from a single second to about a minute, and the team noted that longer calls often carried more accompanying signals. 



Even after controlling for call duration, kin related through mothers still produced strikingly similar combination rates, while paternal kin did not.



When the data were plotted against the family tree, tight matriline clusters appeared, whereas paternal relatives scattered like tossed seeds. That neat divide suggested learning, not genes, was steering the communication style.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-chimps-learn-from-mothers">What chimps learn from mothers</h2>



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/what-aging-chimpanzees-can-teach-us-about-ourselves/">Chimp</a> calls may sound repetitive to outsiders, but meaning changes with context. A low grunt plus a relaxed shoulder invites cooperation, the same sound paired with a rigid stare warns rivals to back off.



“What we see is that certain chimpanzee mothers tend to produce many vocal visual combinations, while others produce few, and the offspring end up behaving like the mothers,” said Mine. 



Mothers spend thousands of hours within arm’s reach of their offspring, offering a nonstop master class in timing and emphasis. 



The influence lasts well into adolescence: every subject in the study had passed ten years of age, yet still reflected the maternal template. 



Such durability mirrors tool use traditions, nest building tricks, and foraging routes that young chimps pick up from mom and keep for life.



Humans follow a similar path. Brain imaging <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15496861/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">work</a> shows that infants’ auditory maps sharpen in direct response to speech from caregivers, underscoring the power of social tutoring during the first year of life.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-chimps-don-t-copy-fathers">Why chimps don’t copy fathers</h2>



Male <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/social-curiosity-starts-young-and-helps-us-survive/">chimpanzees</a> patrol borders, join hunting parties, and spend nights in separate trees, limiting close range contact with infants. With few intimate moments to watch dad gesture, youngsters have little chance to copy his style.



Genetics offers no easy alternative. Maternal and paternal kin share similar fractions of DNA, and the vocal apparatus does not differ by parentage. Mine’s group even considered X linked inheritance yet found no sex bias in the pattern.



The maternal stamp shows up in other behaviors as well. A <a href="https://www.harvard.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Harvard University</a> team <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(16)31054-5?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS0960982216310545%3Fshowall%3Dtrue" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">showed</a> that only lineages whose mothers clasped hands overhead during grooming kept doing so decades after the elder female died.



Intriguingly, some theories suggest that mitochondria or sex chromosomes could influence brain circuits for communication, but these ideas predict stronger mother son resemblance than mother daughter, which the new data do not support.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-lessons-for-human-language">Lessons for human language</h2>



Face to face conversation is not just words. Medical education <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6127604/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">data</a> place verbal content at roughly seven percent of the total signal, with tone and body language conveying the rest. 



The findings remind us why chimps and toddlers learn from their mothers as they watch lips, hands, and posture as closely as they listen.



“In humans, body language includes hand gestures and facial expressions, but also many subtle behaviours, like shifts in posture and gaze direction,” noted Simon Townsend, a senior author.&nbsp;



Gesture vocabularies differ across cultures, from the Italian hand pinch to the American thumbs up, showing that social learning sculpts non verbal codes in our species as surely as it does in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/chimpanzees-use-rhythmic-drumming-to-communicate-in-forests/">chimps</a>.



Recognizing gestures as learned may even aid conservationists. Playback experiments that rely only on audio could miss half the picture, potentially stressing animals by stripping away the visual layer that normally softens or sharpens a call’s intent.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-other-chimp-studies-found">What other chimp studies found</h2>



Evidence for vocal learning in apes was once considered thin. Early work focused on fixed call repertoires, yet modern recordings reveal surprising flexibility.



In Côte d’Ivoire, neighboring communities craft distinct pant hoot accents even when habitat and diet match closely, <a href="https://www.eva.mpg.de/documents/Wiley-Blackwell/Crockford_Wild_Ethology_2004_1555595.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">suggesting</a> they tweak calls to flag group identity.



Captive <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3391466/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">experiments</a> add another layer: one colony invented a novel food grunt that swept through the enclosure within weeks, proving how quickly social transmission can reshape signals.



Fresh <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9845976/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">data</a> also show chimps using gestures to coordinate a cultural ritual called grooming handclasp, where partners raise arms and clasp hands overhead. 



Researchers found that silent gestures triggered the move in 44 percent of cases, confirming that body language can lead group traditions.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-chimps-mothers-and-language">Chimps, mothers, and language</h2>



If a chimp can pick up a gestural dialect from mom, the roots of human speech may reach deeper into evolutionary history than textbooks once claimed. 



Socially learned communication could have begun as a simple maternal bond and later expanded into the complex phonetic systems humans wield today.



“The next exciting step will be to see if offspring are learning certain types of visual vocal combinations from their mothers, in addition to the number of visual behaviours they produce when they vocalise,” said <a href="https://www.york.ac.uk/psychology/staff/academicstaff/ks553/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Katie Slocombe</a>, University of York.



Long term projects across multiple sites will be essential. Comparative work with bonobos, whose social order differs markedly from chimps, could reveal whether maternal imprinting is a great ape signature or a chimpanzee specialty.



Cultural historians of language note that every human generation puts its own twist on speech, slang, and cadence. 



The new ape data suggest that this creative cycle may have started millions of years before the first words were spoken.



The study is published in <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3003270" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">PLOS Biology</a>.



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Young chimps develop 'accents' in their communication language just like humans

Families leave fingerprints on voices in every culture, yet few...

A previously unknown Jurassic sea reptile has been uncovered from Germany's renowned Posidonia Shale fossil beds. The discovery sheds new light on the oceans around about 183 million years ago.



Scientists at the <a href="https://namu-ev.de/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Naturkunde‑Museum Bielefeld</a>, working with colleagues from the Polish Academy of Sciences, examined a nearly complete skeleton that has preserved traces of soft tissue.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-sea-creature-with-distinctive-features">Sea creature with distinctive features</h2>



While unearthed back in 1978 from Holzmaden quarry, the distinctive aspects of the fossil have been overlooked.



“This specimen has been in collections for decades, but previous studies never fully explored its distinctive anatomy,” said Sven Sachs, lead author of the study. 



“Our detailed examination revealed an unusual combination of skeletal features that clearly distinguish it from all previously known plesiosaurs.”



The species has been named Plesionectes longicollum, which translates to long‑necked near‑swimmer." The creature represents a new species within the plesiosauroid group - a lineage of long‑necked marine reptiles that sailed Earth’s seas during the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mammal-social-behavior-dates-back-to-the-age-of-dinosaurs/">age of dinosaurs</a>.



Despite representing an immature individual, the fossils’ anatomical traits were pronounced enough to confirm a new genus and species.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-are-plesiosaurs">What are plesiosaurs?</h2>



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/plesiosaur-fossils-are-the-first-evidence-of-jurassic-vertebrates-in-texas/">Plesiosaurs</a> were marine reptiles that lived during the time of the dinosaurs. They first appeared in the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-did-not-impact-dinosaur-abundance-in-the-triassic/">Late Triassic</a> and became especially common in the Jurassic period. These animals lived in oceans all over the world and could grow to impressive sizes.



There are two major body types among plesiosaurs. Some had small heads, long necks, and wide bodies with four flippers - like the newly identified Plesionectes longicollum. 



Others had shorter necks, larger heads, and strong jaws built for powerful bites. Both types were excellent swimmers, using their flippers to glide through water in a motion similar to underwater flying.



They likely fed on fish, squid, and other small marine creatures. Their fossils have been found on every continent, which shows how widespread they were. 



Despite their success, plesiosaurs eventually went extinct at the end of the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/discovery-of-a-cretaceous-ostrich-mexidracon-longimanus-with-extremely-long-arms/">Cretaceous</a> period - around the same time as the dinosaurs.



This makes every new discovery, like Plesionectes longicollum, important for understanding how these animals lived, evolved, and fit into ancient ocean ecosystems.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-insights-from-the-jurassic-reptile">Insights from the Jurassic reptile</h2>



This reptile is now the oldest known plesiosaur from the Holzmaden region. The study shows that the Posidonia Shale holds even more diversity than scientists realized. 



Although other plesiosaurs have been found in the same formation - five in total from all three major plesiosaur lineages - this new specimen reveals yet another branch on the family tree of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/jurassic-dinosaurs-had-specialized-diets-to-coexist-peacefully/">Jurassic</a> marine life.



“This discovery adds another piece to the puzzle of marine ecosystem evolution during a critical time in Earth's history,” explained Dr. Daniel Madzia of the Polish Academy of Sciences. 



“The early <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/global-warming-mass-extinctions/">Toarcian</a> period when this animal lived was marked by significant environmental changes, including a major oceanic anoxic event that affected marine life worldwide.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-fossils-like-this-still-matter">Why fossils like this still matter</h2>



Uncovering a new species is always exciting - but what makes the Plesionectes longicollum fossil even more remarkable is how it reminds us that science is always evolving.



Museum collections everywhere contain thousands of specimens that were tagged, shelved, and perhaps forgotten for years. As instrumentation improves and new questions are asked, these old discoveries can gain new significance.



Re-examining fossils with modern techniques allows scientists to spot differences that might have been missed before. 



In this case, those differences were enough to rewrite part of the plesiosaur family tree. The research shows how much we still have to learn - not just from new digs, but from existing collections.



Fossils like this one offer more than a glimpse into extinct species - they provide insight into how life adapted to past climate shifts, ocean changes, and extinction events. Ultimately, they help scientists better anticipate how modern ecosystems might respond to the environmental challenges we face today.



The Plesionectes longicollum fossil - catalogued as specimen SMNS 51945 - is on permanent display at the Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde Stuttgart (Stuttgart State Museum of Natural History).



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://peerj.com/articles/19665/">PeerJ</a>.



Image Credit: Peter Nickolaus



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Jurassic fossil reveals a long-necked sea monster

A previously unknown Jurassic sea reptile has been uncovered from...

Why did our earliest ancestors begin walking upright? For decades, the textbook answer pointed to shrinking trees and widening grasslands. 



As East Africa dried out, the story went, apes were forced onto open ground, and two-legged strides proved more efficient than knuckle-walking over the hot savanna.



Yet fossil ankles and finger bones tell a more complicated tale. Some of the first hominins able to stand tall - species such as Ardipithecus and Australopithecus - still carried shoulders, curved fingers, and flexible feet ideal for climbing. If the trees were gone, why keep the tree gear?



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-human-ancestors-in-patchy-forests">Human ancestors in patchy forests</h2>



A recent field study of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/what-wild-chimpanzees-can-teach-us-about-parenting/">chimpanzees</a> in western Tanzania offers a fresh piece of the puzzle.



Working in the remote Issa Valley, a team led by Rhianna Drummond-Clarke from the <a href="https://www.eva.mpg.de/index/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology</a> followed a community of wild chimps.



These chimpanzees live in a habitat that is strikingly similar to the patchy woodland thought to be inhabited by early hominins six to eight million years ago.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-feeding-keeps-chimps-in-trees">Feeding keeps chimps in trees</h2>



The results show that even when the landscape looks open and the next trunk stands many feet away, large apes still spend huge chunks of their day aloft. They balance, hang, and sometimes stand bipedally on branches to reach fruit, leaves, and seeds.



“For decades it was assumed that bipedalism arose because we came down from the trees and needed to walk across an open savanna,” Drummond-Clarke said. 



“We show safely and effectively navigating the canopy can remain very important for a large, semi-arboreal ape, even in open habitat."



"Adaptations to arboreal, rather than terrestrial, living may have been key in shaping the early <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/human-evolution-was-shaped-by-competition-not-just-climate-change/">evolution</a> of the human lineage.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-chimps-mapped-branch-by-branch">Chimps mapped branch by branch</h2>



The Issa Valley lies on a high plateau northwest of Lake Tanganyika. Rainfall is seasonal. Along streams, ribbon-like galleries of evergreen forest persist, but the hills between are covered by “savanna-mosaic” - tall grasses studded with single trees or small clumps.



Previous GPS and accelerometer work by the same team revealed that Issa chimpanzees spend just as much time <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/study-shows-early-humans-climbed-trees-and-worked-with-stone/">climbing</a> as their cousins in dense equatorial jungle. The new study set out to ask why.



Observers shadowed adult males and females through the 2022 dry season, recording every feeding bout in detail. They measured each tree’s height, trunk diameter, crown spread, and the thickness of branches that chimps ventured onto.



Back at camp, the researchers sorted photographs and notes into a vast spreadsheet. They recorded what food item was taken, how long the ape stayed, and which postures - hanging, clambering, upright balancing - were used to reach it.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-fruit-drives-upright-tree-behavior">Fruit drives upright tree behavior</h2>



Patterns soon emerged. The animals are, first and foremost, fruit connoisseurs. Soft pulp accounted for most mouthfuls, followed by young leaves and occasional flowers or seeds. Those items grow at the very tips of branches, where supports taper from wrist-thick to finger-thin.



To exploit them safely, chimps often adopt a suspensory style. They hang or stand bipedally, using nearby limbs or the trunk for support while reaching for food.



The longer a feeding session lasted, the larger and more food-laden the tree tended to be. Large fruit-laden trees, full of ripe figs or drupes, tempted chimps to invest extra time and more acrobatic maneuvers.



“We suggest our bipedal gait continued to evolve in the trees even after the shift to an open habitat,” Drummond-Clarke explained. “Observational studies of great apes demonstrate they can walk on the ground for a few steps, but most often use bipedalism in the trees."



"It’s logical that our early hominin relatives also engaged in this kind of bipedalism, where they can hold onto branches for extra balance.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-trees-offered-food-and-safety">Trees offered food and safety</h2>



Classic depictions of human origins show early humans standing upright on an empty plain, scanning for predators. The Issa observations point to a more nuanced scenario: mixed woodland offered both risk and reward.



Staying in trees gave access to rich food, making traits like <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/discovery-of-a-cretaceous-ostrich-mexidracon-longimanus-with-extremely-long-arms/">long arms</a>, grasping toes, and flexible spines advantageous. Bipedal balance on a branch could be a stepping-stone, literally and figuratively, toward efficient walking on the ground.



The study also underscores the role of seasonality. During the dry months the Issa chimps actually used the open miombo woodland more than the riverine forest, because fruiting peaks there at that time. Whether wet-season patterns look the same remains to be tested.



“This study only looked at foraging behavior during the dry season,” Drummond-Clarke cautioned. 



She and her colleagues plan to replicate their methods during rains, add nutritional analysis of foods, and compare Issa chimps with other savannah-dwelling populations in Uganda and Senegal.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-habitats-with-evolutionary-insights">Habitats with evolutionary insights</h2>



Understanding how today’s apes solve the challenges of a drying world carries modern as well as paleoanthropological relevance.



East Africa is warming; <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/wild-bees-are-active-in-woodland-tree-tops/">woodlands</a> are being fragmented by farms and roads. If chimps rely heavily on large fruiting trees even in sparse habitat, conserving those keystone species becomes critical. 



Protecting corridor forests could safeguard not only an endangered ape but also a living analogue for our own distant past.



“Importantly, this is also only one community of chimpanzees,” Drummond-Clarke noted. “Future studies of other chimpanzees living in such dry, open habitats will be vital to see if these patterns are truly a savanna-mosaic signal or unique to Issa.”



Whatever the outcome, the Issa data remind us that the path to humanity did not leap instantly from branch to prairie. It meandered through a landscape where climbing and walking, hanging and balancing, all mattered - where survival meant mastering both the ground beneath and the canopy above.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/ecology-and-evolution/articles/10.3389/fevo.2025.1561078/full" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution</a>.



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Walking upright may have started in the trees, not on land

Why did our earliest ancestors begin walking upright? For decades,...

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



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



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



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



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



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



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Worms dominated seas before dinosaurs

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



The full study was published in the journal Current Biology.



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Earth's oldest forest found in the United States

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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The environmental problem we actually solved

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

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

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







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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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What to plant in your garden in mid-July

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

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

<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://youtu.be/XYgiPzmNBTU?si=eFYY7gPHU1JznLvU
</div></figure>



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Is chocolate the next nutritional powerhouse?

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

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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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



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Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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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

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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

[sendtonews key="QIoVYJqRBi-2434608-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from NASA...

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Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> describes Earth’s interconnected systems, and how this network is affected by rising temperatures.&nbsp;



During 2020, average global temperatures matched the hottest year on record. The hurricane season was also record-breaking, with many of the storms intensifying at extraordinary speeds. Hot water in the ocean is fuel for hurricanes. The satellite data shows that it's all one interconnected system showing how Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected.



According to NASA, dust swept up from Northern Africa plays a major role in the formation of hurricanes, and is also a key source of fertilization in the Amazon rainforest. As a result of<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/seagrass-wasting-disease-is-fueled-by-climate-change/"> climate</a> change, dust plumes are expected to decline, which will have an effect on vegetation far away.&nbsp;



Images from Earth-observing satellites show how the world’s plant life is affected by natural disasters, fires, and deforestation. Satellites also reveal how widespread changes in vegetation impact waterways,&nbsp; the climate, air quality. Satellites communicate by using radio waves to send signals to the antennas on the Earth. "Earth From Space" is a groundbreaking two-hour special that reveals a spectacular new space-based vision of our planet. 



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&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.

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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