Young aspen trees in Yellowstone are doing something they have not done in almost 100 years. Rather than sprouting and being eaten back to nubs by elk and bison, they're actually growing into tall, adult forest trees rising up towards the canopy.



This matters more than it might seem, because it shows what happens when a missing piece of an ecosystem returns.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-yellowstone-aspens-and-elk">Yellowstone, aspens, and elk</h2>



In the 1920s, people <a href="https://www.yellowstone.org/wolf-project/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">eliminated wolves in Yellowstone</a>. At the time, with limited scientific knowledge, managers believed it was the right thing to do.



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/from-wolves-to-dogs-did-domestication-begin-without-human-help/">Without wolves</a>, elk herds grew very large. Elk love to eat aspen shoots - the tender young growth is highly palatable to them.



For roughly 70 years, elk browsed aspen sprouts down to stub height, and the trees couldn't grow. 



If you had walked through Yellowstone in the 1980s, you would have seen many tiny aspen shoots covering the ground, but almost no young trees gaining height. 



The forest's regeneration was stalled. Old trees died, and no new ones replaced them.



In 1995 and 1996, park managers reintroduced wolves into the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/yellowstone-supervolcano-eruption-study-sparks-new-debate-on-where-and-when-it-will-erupt/">Yellowstone Park ecosystem</a>. Scientists hoped and wondered whether this would change anything for the trees.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-aspen-matter-to-yellowstone">Why aspen matter to Yellowstone</h2>



Aspen groves provide habitat for many species. Birds nest in them. Beavers eat the bark and use the wood for dams. Butterflies and moths lay eggs on the leaves. 



Their canopy admits enough light for wildflowers and shrubs to grow beneath. When it rains, aspen groves hold water in the soil better than some other forest types.



In short, when aspen return, dozens of other species benefit. More trees support more insects, which in turn support more birds, enriching the ecosystem.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-checking-the-trees-three-decades-later">Checking the trees three decades later</h2>



<a href="https://fwcs.oregonstate.edu/users/luke-painter" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Luke Painter</a>, an ecologist at <a href="https://oregonstate.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Oregon State University</a>, sought clear answers. His team returned to 87 aspen stands across Yellowstone that scientists had previously surveyed. 



They measured thousands of young trees, looked for bite marks, and counted how many stems were tall enough that elk could no longer reach the tips.



About a third of these stands now have many tall young aspens pushing toward the canopy. 



"About 26 of the 87 aspen stands we examined had large numbers of tall saplings throughout, a remarkable change from the 1990s when surveys found none at all," Painter said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-wolves-matter-to-yellowstone-aspens">Why wolves matter to Yellowstone aspens</h2>



Breaking it all down, the conclusions of this study are pretty simple. 



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/wolves-move-pups-across-mountains-to-adapt-to-climate-pressure/">Wolves hunt elk</a>. When wolves came back, two things happened. First, elk numbers declined from unusually high levels. Second, elk changed their behavior. They spent less time in the same areas feeding.



With fewer elk and shorter feeding bouts, more aspen shoots survived long enough to exceed the browsing zone - about six to seven feet high. 



Once a sapling reaches that height, elk cannot easily reach the growing tip. The tree continues to grow.



"The reintroduction of large carnivores has initiated a recovery process that had been shut down for decades," Painter explained.



Scientists call this a <a href="https://www.nature.com/scitable/knowledge/library/trophic-cascades-across-diverse-plant-ecosystems-80060347/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">trophic cascade</a> - when adding or removing one species causes changes that ripple through the whole system.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-some-places-recover-others-don-t">Some places recover, others don't</h2>



Unfortunately, not every aspen stand has recovered yet. Some valleys still have many short, heavily browsed shoots, because it's not only elk eating them anymore. 



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/yellowstones-iconic-bison-have-merged-into-a-single-herd/">Bison herds have grown</a>, and bison browse on aspen as well. They are strong enough to break young trees. 



"Increasing numbers of bison may be emerging as a new constraint to aspen in some areas," Painter confirmed.



Additionally, winter snow depth varies; droughts stress trees; bears and mountain lions also hunt elk; and hunting outside the park influences elk distribution. 



All of these factors interact, which is why some sites show strong recovery, others show moderate recovery, and a few have changed very little.



The key pattern is that places with many tall saplings experience little browsing, and aspen groves that remain popular eating grounds today stay short. 



This fact is the strongest indication that tree recovery is linked directly to wolf presence, not solely to weather or soil conditions.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-proof-in-the-measurements">Proof in the measurements</h2>



Painter's team did not rely on casual observation. They used the same methods as earlier researchers, measuring the same plots. 



They counted recruitment - when young trees surpass browsing height and begin progressing toward maturity. This measure is crucial. Sprouts are insufficient if they never grow; without recruitment, the forest cannot replace itself.



The results are robust. After being stalled for most of a century, Yellowstone's aspens are increasing in height. In recovering stands today, you will see saplings - six, eight, or ten feet tall - that were not present in the 1990s.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-future-of-yellowstone-s-aspens">The future of Yellowstone's aspens</h2>



"This is a remarkable case of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/giant-viruses-found-in-yellowstones-hot-springs-may-be-near-the-root-of-all-life-on-earth/">ecological restoration</a>," Painter concluded. "Wolf reintroduction is yielding long-term ecological changes contributing to increased biodiversity and habitat diversity."



Trees grow slowly, so even with wolves restored, it will take decades for these young aspens to form a full-grown forest. 



Some areas might never fully recover if bison numbers continue to rise or if the climate becomes too hot and dry.



Thanks to the work of Painter and his team, scientists are now certain that restoring the Yellowstone predator has restarted aspen forest regeneration. Not everywhere and not perfectly, but enough to be measured, creating hope for the future.



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378112725004499?via%3Dihub" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Forest Ecology and Management</a>.



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Yellowstone's aspen trees are growing again thanks to the reintroduction of wolves

Young aspen trees in Yellowstone are doing something they have not done in almost 100 years. Rather than sprouting and being eaten back to nubs by elk and bison, they're actually growing into tall, adult forest trees rising up towards the canopy. This matters more than it might seem, because it shows what happens when a missing piece of an ecosystem returns. Yellowstone, aspens, and elk In the 1920s, people eliminated wolves in Yellowstone. At the time, with limited scientific knowledge, managers believed it was the right...

New research indicates that tropical cyclones pose serious threats to newborns in poorer countries. Scientists studied outcomes in low- and middle-income countries over nearly two decades and discovered that weaker storms also bring grim outcomes for the youngest among us.



The investigation was led by Zachary Wagner of the <a href="https://dornsife.usc.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences</a>.



The team focused on multiple regions of the world that frequently experience these <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/storms-like-helene-release-toxic-chemicals-from-industrial-facilities/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">weather</a> disturbances, and drew on health data from thousands of mothers and infants.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-weaker-storms-still-disrupt-services">Weaker storms still disrupt services</h2>



Even lower-intensity cyclones can trigger torrential downpours and massive flooding, which disrupt essential services in a snap. 



<a href="https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMsa1803972" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Hurricane Maria</a> in 2017 led to an estimated 4,645 additional deaths in Puerto Rico, so it’s no surprise that any tropical system can inflict major health <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-climate-change-is-impacting-infant-growth/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">setbacks</a>.



When roads are ruined or hospitals lose power, new mothers and their babies struggle to reach critical help. These disasters can also affect sanitation systems, leading to infection risks in communities that already have limited resources.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-infant-deaths-rose-despite-storm-strength">Infant deaths rose despite storm strength</h2>



“The fact that health care use and undernutrition were not affected by tropical cyclone <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/infant-speech-is-driven-by-heart-rate-activity/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">exposure</a> suggests that the mortality effects are driven by other factors that we could not directly study,” said Wagner. 



Infant mortality rose about 11% in the areas that were analyzed, even when storms stayed below hurricane strength. 



The investigators also saw no clear link between fewer <a href="https://www.nhs.uk/pregnancy/your-pregnancy-care/your-antenatal-care/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">antenatal care</a> visits or stunting and mortality in this context. These findings imply that lesser-known influences, such as disease surges or environmental contamination, may be responsible for these deaths.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-infants-face-highest-risk-in-first-year">Infants face highest risk in first year</h2>



The researchers found that the increased risk of death was most pronounced during a baby’s first year of life. While exposure during pregnancy did raise concerns, the data showed a sharper spike in mortality for those infants who lived through a tropical storm shortly after birth.



This pattern suggests that the critical months after delivery, when babies rely most heavily on caregivers and local <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/infant-brains-are-more-organized-and-adaptable-than-we-thought/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">healthcare</a>, are when disasters hit the hardest. Disruptions to clean water, electricity, and emergency services may be especially lethal for infants during this window.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-hidden-hazards-for-infants-beyond-storms">Hidden hazards for infants beyond storms</h2>



Even when a storm passes quickly, the lingering effects can quietly endanger infant health. Floodwater can carry bacteria and chemicals into homes and drinking supplies, exposing infants to dangerous pathogens long after the skies clear.



Additionally, families may lose income or food access due to damaged crops and supply routes. These ripple effects (though harder to see) can lead to increased stress, poor sanitation, and reduced care, all of which can raise the risk of early death for vulnerable newborns.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-weaker-storms-are-still-harmful">Weaker storms are still harmful</h2>



Most media coverage focuses on <a href="https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/aboutsshws.php" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Category 4 and 5 cyclones</a>, but these account for only a small slice of storm exposure in poorer countries. The study revealed that even tropical storms, which fall below hurricane strength, had nearly the same impact on infant deaths as stronger systems.



This means communities may not receive aid or attention, simply because the storm didn’t reach a certain wind speed. But for families without power, clean water, or medical help, the effects can be just as deadly, especially for newborns.



The team looked at seven countries: Bangladesh, India, Cambodia, the Philippines, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Madagascar. Some places showed a bigger jump in infant deaths, while others appeared more resilient.



It’s unclear whether geography or preparedness made a difference. Factors like building quality, coastal infrastructure, or underlying health problems vary widely and may shape the impact of passing storms.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-protecting-infant-lives">Protecting infant lives</h2>



“But that doesn’t mean the impact of larger storms is absent. As the planet warms, we risk more tragedies across the globe if measures aren’t taken to protect children in the poorest countries,” said Zetianyu Wang, a Ph.D. student at RAND and lead author of the study.



Rising sea surface <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/ngeo779" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">temperatures</a> could lead to stronger cyclones, increasing risk where resources are scarce.



Some experts <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10461789/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">suggest</a> early warning systems and sturdy shelters can help residents ride out extreme weather. But this new evidence indicates that even weaker storms might require a serious boost in disaster response for babies.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-research-on-storm-related-infant-death">Research on storm-related infant death</h2>



Scientists plan to explore how these storms might be causing infant deaths, without clear ties to poor nutrition or limited prenatal care. 



Possible factors include undetected infections, toxic exposures from floodwater, and the mental strain on families in the chaos following a cyclone.



Broader solutions may involve community-level health checks, reinforced clinics, and improved sanitation strategies. If crucial services stay operational, newborns might have a better shot at survival when storms arrive.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adt9640" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Science Advances</a>.



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Even weak storms are deadly for infants in developing nations

New research indicates that tropical cyclones pose serious threats to...

Ozone pollution may become harder to manage as climate change accelerates. A new study suggests that global warming could reduce the effectiveness of current strategies to control ground-level ozone - a harmful pollutant and major contributor to urban smog. 



This shift could make it more difficult to improve air quality and protect public health in future.



The scientists behind this research are from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (<a href="https://www.mit.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">MIT</a>). They used a combination of climate and atmospheric chemistry models to explore how rising temperatures could alter the behavior of pollutants.



Their findings show that in regions like eastern North America and Western Europe, greater reductions in emissions may be required to achieve the same air quality results. 



In contrast, parts of northeast Asia may see stronger impacts from emission cuts in the future.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ozone-levels-and-smog-the-basics">Ozone levels and smog - the basics</h2>



Smog is that hazy, brownish gunk you sometimes see hanging over cities, especially on hot, sunny days. It’s a nasty mix of air pollutants, and one of the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/decline-in-ozone-depleting-chemicals-is-an-encouraging-trend/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">main ingredients is ozone</a> - but not the kind high up in the atmosphere that protects us from the sun. 



This ground-level ozone forms when sunlight hits pollutants from cars, factories, and other sources, triggering a chemical reaction. 



The result is a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/traffic-related-air-pollution-might-increase-alzheimers-risk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">layer of pollution</a> that makes the air hard to breathe, especially for people with asthma or other lung problems.



Even though ozone up in the sky is helpful, the ozone down near the ground is a troublemaker. 



It doesn’t come out of tailpipes or smokestacks directly - instead, it forms when nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds (things that come from gasoline, paint, and even some cleaning products) mix in the heat and sunlight. 



So when people say we need to cut smog, they’re really talking about cutting down the stuff that creates ozone down here. 



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/stroke-risk-is-elevated-by-air-pollution-and-traffic-noise/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Clean air laws</a> and better car engines help, but smog still shows up, especially in big cities with lots of traffic and sun.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ground-level-ozone-tough-to-control">Ground-level ozone tough to control</h2>



Unlike the ozone layer high in the atmosphere, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ozone-pollution-is-stunting-tropical-forest-growth/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ground-level ozone</a> isn’t helpful - it’s harmful. It’s a lung irritant and contributes to heart disease and asthma. It’s also linked to thousands of early deaths every year.



But controlling it isn’t straightforward. That’s because ozone is a secondary pollutant. It doesn’t come directly from cars or factories. 



Instead, it forms in the atmosphere when sunlight reacts with other pollutants, mainly <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/reducing-nitrogen-oxide-pollution-could-boost-crop-yields/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">nitrogen oxides</a> and volatile organic compounds.



“That is why you tend to have higher ozone days when it is warm and sunny,” explained Emmie Le Roy, a graduate student in the MIT Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences (<a href="https://eaps.mit.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">EAPS</a>), and lead author of a research paper on this study.



Typically, regulators try to lower ground-level ozone by cutting nitrogen oxide emissions. But this pollutant reacts in complicated ways. In some environments, reducing nitrogen oxide can even cause ozone levels to go up.



“Past research has focused on the role of emissions in forming ozone, but the influence of meteorology is a really important part of Emmie’s work,” said senior author Noelle Selin, a professor in the Institute for Data, Systems, and Society (IDSS) and EAPS.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-ozone-levels-matter">Why ozone levels matter</h2>



To understand what might happen decades from now, the team ran two different future climate scenarios - one with more warming, one with less - and compared those to past conditions from 2000 to 2015. 



For each scenario, they simulated 80 years of data, broken into five, 16-year periods.



The team focused on three regions: Eastern North America, Western Europe, and Northeast China. These areas were chosen because they have <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/cutting-emissions-could-save-250000-lives-a-year-in-europe/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">high emissions</a> and good monitoring data.



Their model showed that as the Earth warms, nitrogen oxide emissions from soil - which increase with temperature - could reduce the effectiveness of human-led emission cuts in places like North America and Europe.



“This shows how important it is to improve our representation of the biosphere in these models to better understand how climate change may impact air quality,” stated Le Roy.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-northeast-asia-s-ozone-tradeoff">Northeast Asia’s ozone tradeoff</h2>



The story is different in northeast Asia. There, industrial sources release more ozone per unit of nitrogen oxide. So, reducing those emissions in the future could have a bigger payoff.



“But I wouldn’t say that is a good thing because it means that, overall, there are higher levels of ozone,” Le Roy added.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-looking-beyond-averages">Looking beyond averages</h2>



Many past studies used average weather data to make their predictions. This study took a different approach. It modeled year-to-year weather changes - including extremes - to better understand what might happen.



“Average climate isn’t the only thing that matters. One high ozone day, which might be a statistical anomaly, could mean we don’t meet our air quality target and have negative <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/health-impacts-of-plastic-pollution-are-a-top-concern/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">human health impacts</a> that we should care about,” explained Le Roy.



The results suggest that future clean air plans should consider how changing weather patterns interact with pollution. We may need to cut emissions more sharply just to stay even.



“Future air quality planning should consider how climate change affects the chemistry of air pollution. We may need steeper cuts in nitrogen oxide emissions to achieve the same air quality goals,” said Le Roy.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-expanding-the-models">Expanding the models</h2>



The researchers hope to expand their approach to include other factors that change from year to year, such as wildfires and biomass burning.



“We’ve shown that it is important for air quality scientists to consider the full range of climate variability, even if it is hard to do in your models, because it really does affect the answer that you get,” Selin concluded.



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.5c01347" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Environmental Science &amp; Technology</a>.



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Reducing smog by taming ozone levels in a changing climate is proving quite difficult

Ozone pollution may become harder to manage as climate change...

Public health conversations often focus on a person's own well-being. But what if our habits in adolescence echo not just through our lives, but through the gene expression and health of our children?



A new study offers sobering evidence of this possibility. It suggests that boys who gain excess weight during puberty may set in motion biological changes that affect the health of their future offspring.



This isn’t just speculation or a sociological observation. The research identifies specific changes in the offspring’s genes linked to asthma, obesity, and low lung function. These are not inherited mutations but rather epigenetic markers - chemical switches that tell genes when to turn on or off.



The study connects lifestyle choices made in early teenage years to real molecular traces in the next generation, offering a sharp reminder of how deep the consequences of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/americas-tide-of-obesity-is-rising-with-75-already-impacted/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">obesity</a> may go.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-dad-s-teen-weight-and-children-s-genes">Dad's teen weight and children's genes</h2>



Led by scientists from the University of Southampton and the <a href="https://www.uib.no/en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Bergen</a>, the research looked at 339 father-child pairs. 



Participants ranged in age from 7 to 51 and came from six different countries. The goal was to understand how changes in a father’s body shape during different life stages might affect their children’s genetic expression.



To estimate fat levels, researchers used a validated silhouette scale showing nine body types. Fathers selected the image that best represented their body shape at age 8, at the time of voice break (a marker for puberty), and at age 30. These responses served as a stand-in for measured body composition. 



The researchers then examined DNA methylation - an epigenetic process that affects gene expression - in the offspring. This allowed them to trace whether the father’s earlier body weight left a biological signature in their children’s <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/childhood-obesity-rates-are-surging-worldwide/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">genes</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-teen-weight-gain-and-future-children">Teen weight gain and future children</h2>



The most striking results were tied to weight gain during puberty. Overweight fathers at voice break had children with 2,005 DNA changes in 1,962 genes tied to fat, inflammation, and insulin.



“The overweight status of future fathers during puberty was associated with a strong signal in their children’s DNA which were also related to the likelihood of their children being overweight themselves,” said Dr. Negusse Tadesse Kitaba, Senior Research Fellow at the <a href="https://www.southampton.ac.uk" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Southampton</a>.



“Early puberty, when boys start their developing sperm, seems to be a key window of vulnerability for lifestyle influences to drive epigenetic <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/obesity-now-affects-more-than-a-billion-people/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">changes</a> in future offspring,” noted the authors of the study.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-genes-affected-by-teen-obesity">Key genes affected by teen obesity</h2>



The study identified several genes that may explain the health risks seen in offspring. These include genes that regulate insulin release, fat cell growth, aging, and glucose levels. Many of these genes have been linked in other studies to obesity and metabolic disorders. 



For example, one gene affected in the daughters was HIF3A, previously connected to body mass and fat storage.



There was also a gender difference in the results. The biological effects were more pronounced in daughters than sons, though different genes were affected in each. The methylation differences also seemed to carry sex-specific <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/evening-exercise-can-reduce-major-health-risks-of-obesity/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">consequences</a>.



Some genes influenced hormone regulation in daughters, while others affected gene-linked fat metabolism in children of both sexes.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-health-inequalities-across-generations">Health inequalities across generations </h2>



Importantly, the changes were not confined to fat-related traits. The study found epigenetic links to asthma and reduced lung function as well. 



Nearly 1,000 of the identified methylation changes in offspring were associated with lung performance. This suggests that the impact of a father’s teenage weight gain could extend to breathing ability and respiratory health in children.



 “The new findings have significant implications for public health and may be a game-changer in public health intervention strategies,” noted Professor Cecilie Svanes from the University of Bergen. 



She stressed that failing to address obesity in young boys today could deepen health inequalities across generations.



“They suggest that a failure to address obesity in young teenagers today could damage the health of future generations, further entrenching health inequalities for decades to come,” said the researchers.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-gene-changes-pass-through-generations">Gene changes pass through generations</h2>



The study found 24 imprinted genes, inherited parent-specifically, linked to obesity, diabetes, and brain development.



These imprinted genes offer a mechanism by which the body might remember environmental exposures from the father’s adolescence. 



The genes help explain how temporary factors like teenage weight can have lasting effects without altering the DNA sequence itself. This biological memory adds another layer to how we think about inherited health.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-long-term-obesity-worsens-the-impact">Long-term obesity worsens the impact</h2>



The study also noted that the longer-term body shape trajectory - from puberty to adulthood - was linked to additional methylation effects. 



When fathers remained overweight into adulthood, their children showed even more signs of altered gene expression related to asthma and reduced lung capacity.



This finding adds urgency to early intervention. It’s not just a matter of teen boys “growing out of” extra weight. 



The effects may stretch well beyond their own lives and into their children's well-being. The biological signals do not vanish. They accumulate and potentially shape the health trajectory of entire families.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-obesity-alters-the-genes-of-future-children">Obesity alters the genes of future children</h2>



The study comes at a time when childhood and adolescent obesity are rising worldwide. Public health systems often focus on the here and now - on controlling blood pressure, reducing diabetes, and improving lifestyle. But this research asks us to think further ahead.



Study co-author John Holloway is a professor at the University of Southampton and the NIHR Southampton Biomedical Research Centre.



“Childhood obesity is increasing globally," said Professor Holloway. "The results of this study demonstrate that this is a concern not only for the health of the population now but also for generations to come."



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s42003-025-08121-9" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Communications Biology</a>.



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Teen boys’ weight may alter their future children’s genes

Public health conversations often focus on a person's own well-being....

Cancer rates in women are creeping up in the Middle East and North Africa. At the same time, the region is experiencing some of the fastest-rising temperatures in the world. 



New research suggests the two trends may be connected. Breast, ovarian, uterine, and cervical cancers are not just becoming more common - they are becoming more deadly.



The study was conducted by researchers from <a href="https://www.aucegypt.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">the American University in Cairo</a>. The team analyzed how rising ambient temperatures from 1998 to 2019 have coincided with higher rates of cancer in 17 countries across the region.



“As temperatures rise, cancer mortality among women also rises - particularly for ovarian and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/breast-cancer-incidence-linked-to-high-particulate-air-pollution/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">breast cancers</a>,” said Dr Wafa Abuelkheir Mataria of the American University in Cairo.



“Although the increases per degree of temperature rise are modest, their cumulative public health impact is substantial.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-region-under-pressure">A region under pressure</h2>



Environmental health is deteriorating as climate change accelerates. <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/warmer-temperatures-directly-linked-to-severe-vision-impairment-in-older-adults/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Warmer temperatures</a>, air pollution, and food insecurity increase vulnerability to a wide range of diseases. 



Healthcare systems in many of these countries are also strained by climate-related disasters and economic instability. In this context, access to screening and treatment becomes more limited - especially for women.



The researchers looked at Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, and the United Arab Emirates. These countries are already experiencing intense heat. 



Data on the prevalence and mortality rates for the four cancers was analyzed alongside average annual temperature changes over two decades.



“Women are physiologically more vulnerable to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/clinical-terminology-fails-to-represent-climate-related-health-impacts/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">climate-related health risks</a>, particularly during pregnancy,” said co-author Dr Sungsoo Chun of the American University in Cairo. 



“This is compounded by inequalities that limit access to healthcare. Marginalized women face a multiplied risk because they are more exposed to environmental hazards and less able to access early screening and treatment services.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cancer-trends-and-rising-temperatures">Cancer trends and rising temperatures</h2>



For every 1°C rise in temperature, ovarian cancer prevalence rose the most - and breast cancer the least. The increase ranged from 173 to 280 cases per 100,000 people.



Cancer-related deaths followed a similar trend, rising by 171 to 332 deaths per 100,000 per degree Celsius. Ovarian cancer again showed the highest jump, while cervical cancer showed the smallest.



However, these increases were not seen across the board. Only six countries - Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Syria - showed a measurable increase in both prevalence and mortality. These countries tend to have <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/the-summer-of-2023-was-the-hottest-in-2000-years/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">hotter summers</a>, but other unknown factors may also be at play.



In Qatar, for example, breast cancer rates rose by 560 cases per 100,000 people for each 1°C of warming. In Bahrain, the increase was smaller - 330 per 100,000. The difference suggests that temperature is not the only variable influencing risk.



“Temperature rise likely acts through multiple pathways,” said Chun. “It increases exposure to known carcinogens, disrupts healthcare delivery, and may even influence biological processes at the cellular level. Together, these mechanisms could elevate cancer risk over time.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-factors-driving-higher-cancer-rates">Factors driving higher cancer rates</h2>



It’s possible that more people are being diagnosed due to better screening programs. But improved screening should lead to earlier detection and lower mortality - not higher.



The fact that both diagnoses and death rates increased points to more significant exposure to harmful environmental factors.



“This study cannot establish direct causality,” noted Mataria. “While we controlled for GDP per capita, other unmeasured factors could contribute." 



"Nonetheless, the consistent associations observed across multiple countries and cancer types provide compelling grounds for further investigation.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-climate-change-is-becoming-a-health-crisis">Climate change is becoming a health crisis</h2>



The research makes one thing clear: <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-worsens-cardiovascular-health-risks/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">climate change</a> is not just an environmental issue. It's a health issue - and it’s affecting women in vulnerable regions in ways we’re only beginning to understand.



“Strengthening cancer screening programs, building climate-resilient health systems, and reducing exposure to environmental carcinogens are key steps,” said Chun. “Without addressing these underlying vulnerabilities, the cancer burden linked to climate change will continue to grow.”



This study serves as a call to action for public health leaders in climate-vulnerable regions. As temperatures continue to rise, protecting women’s health will require more than just medical help - it will also require environmental solutions.



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2025.1529706/full" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Frontiers in Public Health</a>.



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Rising temperatures linked to higher cancer rates among women

Cancer rates in women are creeping up in the Middle...

Health experts have long urged people to eat slowly, arguing that unhurried meals aid digestion, give the brain time to register fullness, and help prevent weight gain. Yet turning that advice into everyday practice is difficult - especially in a world full of food designed for speed.



A new study led by <a href="https://www.fujita-hu.ac.jp/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Fujita Health University</a> in Japan suggests a surprisingly simple solution: focus on what you eat rather than fussing over how you chew.



“Eating slowly is widely recommended for obesity prevention,” said professor Katsumi Iizuka, who led the research. “But people often don’t know how to implement this advice."



"Our study shows that simply choosing the right type of meal - such as a bento instead of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/stuck-in-traffic-youre-more-likely-to-grab-fast-food/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">fast food</a> - can naturally extend meal duration and encourage more mindful eating.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-slice-or-a-bento">A slice or a bento?</h2>



Iizuka’s team recruited 41 adults - 18 men and 23 women aged 20 to 65 - and invited them to eat three different test meals on separate days.



One meal was a slice of ready-to-eat pizza. The other two were identical bento boxes containing rice, vegetables, and hamburger steak, but with a twist. In one trial, participants ate the vegetables first, and in the other, they ate the vegetables last.



Each volunteer wore a small chewing sensor on the cheek while researchers filmed the session. Together, the sensor and video tracked bite count, chewing speed, and total meal time from first bite to last swallow.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-meal-type-alters-eating-speed">Meal type alters eating speed </h2>



The contrast was striking. Regardless of vegetable order, participants finished their pizza far faster than either of the bento meals. 



Eating pizza required fewer chews, took less time, and involved a smoother, almost uninterrupted rhythm of bites.



The bento boxes, on the other hand, demanded chopsticks, small mouthfuls, and pauses between items, all of which stretched the meal and bumped up chew counts.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-some-food-is-designed-for-speed">Some food is designed for speed</h2>



Researchers had expected that starting with <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-fruits-and-vegetables-improve-heart-health/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">vegetables</a> might slow people down, yet the vegetable-first versus vegetable-last sequence made little difference. What mattered was the physical format.



Bento lunches present food in separate compartments and oblige diners to pick up each morsel individually, often with an eye toward appreciation and balance. Pizza, by contrast, is explicitly engineered for one-handed convenience.



“One key factor affecting meal speed is how the food is served and eaten. Bento meals are served in small portions that need to be picked up with chopsticks, which slows down the process," Iizuka said. 



"In contrast, pizza is eaten by hand and is often designed to be eaten quickly. This difference in serving style plays a big role in how fast people eat.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-obesity-and-meal-types">Obesity and meal types</h2>



Across the sample, men generally ate more quickly than women, taking fewer chews per bite. Age also affected tempo: older participants tended to finish sooner than younger ones, perhaps reflecting dental changes or learned habits.



Contrary to stereotype, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/weight-and-bmi-do-not-accurately-reflect-a-persons-health/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">body mass index</a> did not predict speed. Higher weight volunteers did not necessarily eat faster. 



Instead, the authors speculate that those struggling with obesity might favor ultra-processed, easy-to-eat foods like pizza, which lend themselves to shorter meals and possible overeating.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-chewing-rhythm-is-hard-wired">Chewing rhythm is hard-wired</h2>



The investigation uncovered another intriguing detail: chewing tempo - how many chews per second - varied only slightly between meals. 



That finding supports earlier research indicating that humans maintain a brainstem-controlled chewing rhythm that is remarkably constant, no matter the cuisine.



What changes with meal type is the number of chews and the time between bites. Bigger, softer pieces let diners breeze through lunch; smaller, denser bites naturally slow them down.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-blueprint-for-mindful-eating">Blueprint for mindful eating</h2>



“Eating slowly” sounds simple, yet it often fails in real-world settings because it demands willpower at every bite. The new results point to an easier route: design meals in a way that enforces slow eating automatically.



Serving food in smaller portions, requiring utensils, and mixing textures that need more mastication can stretch meal time without conscious effort.



“If we want to help people eat more slowly, we should focus less on telling them how to chew and more on helping them choose meals that require slower, more deliberate eating," Iizuka said. "This could be a simple yet powerful tool in our fight against <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/why-is-obesity-difficult-to-reverse-it-starts-in-the-brain/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">obesity</a> and related diseases,”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-from-laboratory-to-lunch-box"><a></a>From laboratory to lunch box</h2>



The study carries immediate implications for public-health advice. Nutritionists might steer clients toward multi-component meals - traditional Japanese bento, Mediterranean mezze, or even tapas - rather than single-piece fare.



Schools and workplace cafeterias could offer compartmentalized trays that encourage utensil use and smaller bites. Food manufacturers might rethink <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/common-plastic-food-packaging-contains-9936-harmful-chemicals/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">packaging</a> to promote paced consumption instead of speed.



For individuals looking to adopt slower eating habits, the takeaway is refreshingly doable: swap handheld, “instant” foods for dishes that involve a bit of assembly on the fork or chopsticks.



In an age of rising obesity rates, that simple choice could help people eat less, savor more, and support long-term health without counting chews or watching the clock.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/17/9/1576" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nutrients</a>.



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Why meal type matters more than eating speed

Health experts have long urged people to eat slowly, arguing...

Early on winter mornings in 2021, commuters waiting at a modest suburban intersection unwittingly became part of a hawk's aerial ambush.



Parked just beyond the brake lights sat Vladimir Dinets, a behavioral ecologist at the <a href="https://www.utk.edu/">Universit</a><a href="https://www.utk.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">y</a><a href="https://www.utk.edu/"> of Tennessee</a>, who had noticed an unusual blur skimming car roofs.



Over 18 separate dawn stakeouts, he pieced together a remarkable strategy. A young Cooper’s hawk had learned to read the rhythms of pedestrian crosswalk signals and the queues of idling vehicles, turning rush-hour gridlock into the perfect hunting blind.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-hawk-learned-traffic-signals">The hawk learned traffic signals </h2>



The crossroads in question joins a busy thoroughfare, dubbed "Main Street" to protect residents’ privacy, with a narrower "Side Street." Most red-light cycles last only 30 seconds, lining up no more than four vehicles.



But when a pedestrian presses the crossing button, an audible “beep-beep” sounds for 45 seconds. The red phase then triples to 90 seconds, stretching the queue past what the study called House #8 toward a small, dense-crowned tree outside House #11. That extra half-minute is exactly what the hawk needed.



Each evening, residents of what was dubbed House #2 dined outdoors, sprinkling the lawn with crumbs. By sunrise, the yard teemed with house <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sparrows-have-fewer-friends-as-they-age-just-like-most-people/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">sparrows</a>, mourning doves and the occasional starling. All of which were ideal prey.



From his car, Dinets saw the young raptor slip into the tree at House #11 whenever the audio crossing cue chimed. That sound correctly forecast an impending long red light on fewer than four percent of mornings. Once the traffic blocked its quarry’s sightline, the hawk launched.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-hawk-s-attack-route">Hawk's attack route</h2>



The bird’s route never varied. It hugged the sidewalk south of the so-called "Side Street," flapping less than a meter above the pavement for about 65 meters. Then the hawk banked sharply beneath another streetside tree, shot through a gap between cars, and pounced on the breakfasting flock in front of House #2.



Dinets recorded six such strikes in 12 hours of observation; at least two ended with the hawk carrying off a sparrow or plucking a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/rare-dove-is-not-related-to-any-other-birds-we-know-today/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">dove</a> on the ground.



Crucially, the sound cue itself had fallen silent by the time each attack commenced. Statistical odds of the bird merely coinciding with the rare signal were about 1 in 18,600, strongly suggesting it anticipated the longer red phase after hearing the beeps.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-hawk-uses-cues-from-city-traffic">Hawk uses cues from city traffic </h2>



For the strategy to work, the hawk needed a mental map of blind corners and parked cars, plus an understanding that long queues appear only when the pedestrian alarm sounds.



Dinets says that combination of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/chimpanzees-have-remarkable-spatial-memory-and-sense-of-direction/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">spatial memory</a>, cause-and-effect reasoning, and split-second timing goes beyond simple conditioning. He says it represents one of the most sophisticated uses of human <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ai-traffic-cameras-are-preventing-thousands-of-crashes-each-year/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">traffic</a> patterns ever documented in a wild animal.



Accipiter hawks are already famous for stealth, using hedges and fences as natural blinds before explosive charges at prey. Urban goshawks in Hamburg perch on TV aerials, hop through backyards, and even hunt under streetlights after dark. 



Sparrowhawks in Ukraine trail streetcars to mask their approach. Yet coaxing meaning from an audible pedestrian signal appears to be new territory.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-seasonal-city-tactics">Seasonal city tactics</h2>



Cooper’s hawks rarely breed in densely built areas of New Jersey, but they visit reliably each cold season. 



Evidence suggests that the young hawk had arrived only weeks earlier and quickly deciphered the local traffic language. The following winter, an adult - likely the same hawk - re-enacted the tactic twice.



By summer 2023 the sound box at the light malfunctioned and the family at House #2 stopped dining outside; no hawk has been seen since.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-smart-survival-in-cities">Smart survival in cities</h2>



City life is perilous for a mid-sized raptor like the Cooper's hawk that survives on small birds: reflections in glass, speeding cars, and a maze of wires pose constant threats.



But urban terrain also offers dense prey populations year-round. Studies show some raptors hunt more successfully in towns than in forests, provided they innovate.



The hawk Dinets followed joins a growing list of animals - including crows that use cars to crack nuts and foxes that exploit trash schedules - showing cognitive flexibility in human-altered landscapes.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-lessons-from-a-single-intersection"><a></a>Lessons from a single intersection</h2>



Because the observations center on one bird at one junction, they cannot be easily replicated. Still, they broaden researchers’ perspective on how <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/un-report-disturbing-details-about-the-state-of-earths-wildlife/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">wildlife</a> exploits anthropogenic cues.



The discovery highlights the importance of considering not only the physical obstacles cities impose, but also the new information streams - sounds, lights, queues - that animals might tap.



When commuters sit through an extra-long red light on Side Street, they may grumble about lost seconds. Unbeknownst to them, those seconds once provided cover for a hawk’s silent sprint.



The reseach reminds us that intelligence is not solely a human trait. It wings silently above our windshields, reading the same signals we do - and using them to survive.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/ethology/articles/10.3389/fetho.2025.1539103/full" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Frontiers in Ethology</a>.



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Young hawk uses city traffic to sneak up on its prey

Early on winter mornings in 2021, commuters waiting at a...

When your cat sniffs your shirt or rubs its head on your leg, it may be doing more than showing affection. A new study published in&nbsp;PLOS One&nbsp;reveals that cats can distinguish between humans using scent alone. 



This discovery comes from researchers at <a href="https://www.nodai.ac.jp/english/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Tokyo University of Agriculture</a>, led by Yutaro Miyairi. Cats have long fascinated scientists and pet owners alike with their independence and selective social behavior. Unlike dogs, whose loyalty is expressed openly, cats often seem mysterious in their affections. 



But what if those subtle behaviors hide complex recognition abilities? This study offers a new way to understand how <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/cats-have-become-one-of-the-worlds-most-invasive-predators/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">cats</a> perceive us - through their noses.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cats-sniff-unfamiliar-humans-longer">Cats sniff unfamiliar humans longer</h2>



The research team studied 30 domestic cats to explore their reactions to human odors. Each cat was tested with swabs collected from two people - their owner and a stranger of the same sex as the owner.



These swabs came from specific body areas: behind the ears, the armpits, and between the toes. A third tube acted as a control and contained no scent.



All odor samples were freshly collected before the trials and handled with strict cleanliness to avoid contamination. The trials took place in the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/cats-can-associate-human-words-with-images/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">cats</a>’ homes, and each session was recorded with a GoPro camera for precise behavioral analysis. 



The researchers ensured that cats were familiar with their environment to reduce stress during testing.



The cats were presented with all three tubes at once: one containing their owner’s scent, one from a stranger, and a blank. The tubes were attached to an acrylic sheet with equal spacing, ensuring that cats had the same physical access to each.



Cats consistently sniffed the unfamiliar human scent longer (about 4.8 seconds) than their owner’s scent (about 2.4 seconds) or a blank tube (1.9 seconds). This clear preference suggests they can detect and react to novelty using only their noses.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-nostrils-show-a-left-right-split">Nostrils show a left-right split</h2>



The cats initially sniffed with their right nostril, then gradually switched to the left as they grew familiar with the scent. This change mirrors findings in dogs and horses, who also show such lateralization - favoring one nostril for new scents and the other for familiar ones.



This nostril-switching implies brain involvement. The right nostril links to the right brain hemisphere, often used for processing new or alerting stimuli. Once the scent becomes familiar, the left hemisphere seems to take over, suggesting a routine response kicks in.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tube-placement-also-affected-behavior">Tube placement also affected behavior</h2>



Interestingly, nostril use also varied with tube location. Tubes were spaced 3 centimeters apart on an acrylic plate. 



Cats used the nostril opposite to the tube’s position. For instance, they used their left nostril for the right-side tube, and vice versa. The likely reason: body alignment. <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/global-cat-day-creating-life-saving-change-for-cats/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Cats</a> may sniff with one nostril while preparing to rub that side of their face. 



The researchers found that cats often rubbed the same side of their face as the nostril they used to sniff. This could suggest an exploratory sequence: sniff, then rub.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-sniffing-often-leads-to-face-rubbing">Sniffing often leads to face rubbing</h2>



Rubbing behavior followed sniffing in many trials. This is common in cats, who rub faces to deposit scent markers. But in this study, cats rubbed more often after sniffing their owner’s scent. 



The team observed a strong link between this behavior and emotional closeness scores reported by the owners.



“We suggest that cats use their olfaction for the recognition of humans. Also, we record characteristic rubbing (marking) behavior occurring after sniffing, indicating that sniffing may be an exploratory behavior preceding the rubbing of odor (marking) in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/why-do-cats-outlive-dogs-clues-found-in-their-genes/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">cats</a>,” the authors note.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cat-personality-shaped-sniffing-patterns">Cat personality shaped sniffing patterns</h2>



The study also looked at how cat personality affects behavior. Using the Feline Five scale (neuroticism, extraversion, dominance, impulsiveness, agreeableness), researchers found that male cats with higher neuroticism scores sniffed more repetitively. 



Meanwhile, more agreeable males sniffed calmly. Female cats didn’t show a clear pattern. Cats that sniffed the blank tube first had higher neuroticism. 



Those that went for the known scent first scored higher in extraversion and agreeableness. This suggests that personality traits might influence scent-driven choices even before sniffing begins.



Though cats responded more to unfamiliar scents, how close they were to their owners didn’t change their sniffing duration. 



The emotional bond did influence rubbing behavior but not olfactory exploration. This shows sniffing may be more instinctive, while rubbing could be more social.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cats-use-scent-to-recognize-you">Cats use scent to recognize you</h2>



This research sheds new light on the private world of cats. We now know that their sense of smell helps them recognize us. They don’t rely only on our voices or faces. Instead, they may build an internal scent map of the humans in their lives.



Cats sniff longer when something smells new. They switch nostrils based on familiarity. They rub their faces to mark people or things. And all of this may connect to their personality - especially in male cats.



Future studies may examine whether cats can identify individuals by smell alone in more complex scenarios. Researchers might use cross-modal testing to find out whether a cat can match a scent with a voice or face.



Until then, the next time your cat sniffs your sock or rubs its head on your knee, remember - that’s not just affection. It might be recognition, memory, and even a scent-based “hello.”



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0324016" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">PLOS One</a>.



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Cats can tell people apart by sniffing them

When your cat sniffs your shirt or rubs its head...

Motherhood begins with joy, responsibility, and unexpected exhaustion. For many new mothers, the early days with a newborn blur into sleepless nights and foggy mornings. While friends and family may offer advice like "nap when the baby naps," this simple sleep guidance doesn't always work. 



A new study being presented at SLEEP 2025 has revealed something deeper. The exhaustion many new moms feel isn't just due to lack of sleep - it’s rooted in the loss of uninterrupted <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/parent-children-relationships-are-key-to-lifelong-well-being/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">sleep</a>.



Researchers tracked real-world sleep data of first-time mothers using Fitbit devices. What they found shifts our understanding of postpartum fatigue entirely. Even when mothers manage to get enough total sleep hours, the frequent disruptions keep their bodies from truly resting. 



As the data shows, these disruptions are not short-lived. They persist well into the following weeks and months, reshaping what maternal recovery really means.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-sleep-habits-of-first-time-mothers">Sleep habits of first time mothers</h2>



The study followed 41 first-time mothers between the ages of 26 and 43. They shared their personal wearable sleep data across a span that began a full year before childbirth and extended into their child’s first birthday.



The research team used 5-minute bins to analyze the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/talking-to-kids-about-puberty-why-sooner-may-be-better-than-later/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">sleep</a> and wake patterns, and required at least 10 consecutive minutes of sleep or wakefulness to define the start and end of a sleep session.



One key metric they focused on was the “Longest Stretch of Sleep” (LSS). Typically used to track infant sleep, this measure proved incredibly revealing when applied to mothers. 



By identifying how long mothers were able to sleep without being woken up, the study captured the true depth of sleep fragmentation. What emerged was a clear picture of profound sleep disruption, even after the first weeks of new motherhood.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-sleep-crashes-in-week-one-after-childbirth">Sleep crashes in week one after childbirth</h2>



During the first week after childbirth, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/parents-often-feel-lonely-burnt-out-parenting-demands/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">mothers</a> averaged just 4.4 hours of sleep per day. This is a stark drop from their pre-pregnancy average of 7.8 hours. 



But even more concerning was their LSS, which fell from 5.6 hours before pregnancy to just 2.2 hours. Nearly one-third of these new mothers (31.7%) went more than 24 hours without sleep during that first week.



In many ways, this kind of sleep loss is expected during the first few days. However, the story doesn’t end there. While total sleep duration improved gradually over time, the structure of sleep remained fractured. And that proved to be the real problem.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-sleep-improves-slowly-but-stays-broken">Sleep improves slowly but stays broken</h2>



Sleep rose to 6.7 hours in weeks two to seven, then 7.3 hours by week thirteen. But uninterrupted sleep stayed low - just 3.2 to 4.1 hours, far below the 5.5 to 5.6 hours seen pre-pregnancy.



All differences were statistically significant (F &gt; 29.8, P &lt; 0.001), showing that disrupted <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/parents-divided-on-best-time-to-stop-pacifiers-and-thumb-sucking/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">sleep</a> reflects a lasting biological change, not just a new routine.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-interrupted-sleep-leaves-mothers-exhausted">Interrupted sleep leaves mothers exhausted</h2>



The study was led by Teresa Lillis, a clinical psychologist and adjunct professor in the department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at <a href="https://www.rush.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Rush University</a> Medical Center in Chicago.



“The significant loss of uninterrupted sleep in the postpartum period was the most dramatic finding,” said Lillis. "While mothers generally returned to their pre-pregnancy total nightly sleep duration after the first postpartum week, the structure of their sleep remained profoundly altered." 



"These results fundamentally transform our understanding of postpartum sleep; it’s not the lack of sleep, but rather, the lack of uninterrupted sleep that is the largest challenge for new mothers.”



This insight challenges old advice and explains why many still feel exhausted despite doing everything “right.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-new-sleep-patterns-new-health-risks">New sleep patterns, new health risks</h2>



Lillis and her team argue that this kind of sleep discontinuity may be a major risk factor for postpartum depression and other related health issues. The quality of sleep, not just the quantity, influences both mental and physical recovery after childbirth.



Their study gives weight to what many new mothers have said for years: “I’m sleeping, but I’m still tired.” Now there’s scientific proof to back up that experience. 



Intermittent sleep does not allow the body to complete essential rest cycles, meaning physical repair and mental restoration stay incomplete night after night.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-to-help-new-mothers-sleep">How to help new mothers sleep</h2>



“Our results validate the lived experience of new mothers’ exhaustion and provide a new target for sleep-related interventions,” said Lillis. “Rather than simply encouraging mothers to ‘nap when the baby naps’, our findings show that mothers would most benefit from strategies that protect opportunities for uninterrupted sleep.”



This statement signals a shift in how caregivers, partners, and healthcare professionals might support mothers. Helping new moms catch up on lost hours isn’t enough. 



What they need are longer blocks of continuous rest - a goal that may require more structural support, such as shared night care, postpartum doulas, or better parental leave options.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-mothers-really-need-after-childbirth">What mothers really need after childbirth</h2>



This study opens the door for future research into postpartum recovery and maternal mental health. It may also influence policy decisions related to maternity care. 



The study was conducted at <a href="https://wsu.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Washington State University</a>’s Sleep and Performance Research Center.



What’s clear is that uninterrupted sleep is not just a luxury for new mothers - it is a need, as vital as food and medicine, and it deserves serious attention.



The research will be presented on Monday, June 9, during SLEEP 2025 in Seattle. This annual meeting is a collaborative event hosted by the <a href="https://aasm.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">American Academy of Sleep Medicine</a> and the <a href="https://sleepresearchsociety.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Sleep Research Society</a>.



The findings are published in the journal <a href="https://academic.oup.com/sleep/article/48/Supplement_1/A398/8135096" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">SLEEP</a>.



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Why new mothers feel exhausted despite getting sleep

Motherhood begins with joy, responsibility, and unexpected exhaustion. For many...

As California faces intensifying droughts and tighter water regulations, a new study shows that digital tools can make a significant difference in encouraging households to conserve water.



The research, led by Professor Mehdi Nemati from the <a href="https://www.ucr.edu/">University of California, Riverside</a>, reveals that a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/smartphones-are-teaching-us-how-to-supercharge-our-memory/">smartphone</a> app called Dropcountr can reduce average household water use by six percent. The savings are even higher among the most water-intensive users.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-smarter-use-of-smart-meters">Smarter use of smart meters</h2>



Originally, smart water meters were installed by many utilities to simplify billing through remote readings. But Dropcountr, the app at the heart of the study, takes this a step further. It transforms meter data into real-time feedback that’s easy for homeowners to understand.



The app shows users how much water they consume, how their usage compares to similar households, and how their consumption trends over time.



Nemati called it a “nudge” - a small, timely prompt that shifts behavior without rules or penalties. In the context of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/agave-plants-natures-answer-to-water-conservation/">water conservation</a>, that might mean prompting a user to fix a leak, take shorter showers, or wait until the dishwasher is full before running it.



“California water agencies are under pressure to hit individualized water-use targets and conservation goals under the ‘<a href="https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/conservation/regs/water_efficiency_legislation.html">Making Conservation a California Way of Life</a>’ regulation,” Nemati said. “Our study shows that this digital feedback tool can be a powerful, low-cost way to help households manage their use and reduce consumption.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-real-time-water-use">Real-time water use</h2>



The research focused on the City of Folsom in Northern California, where Dropcountr was introduced to residents in late 2014. Around 3,600 households signed up to use the app, allowing researchers to track more than 32 million records of daily water use from 2013 to 2019. 



By comparing users to a control group, the team found that participants reduced their water use by an average of 6.2%.



Importantly, the app was particularly effective with heavy users. The top 20% of users managed to cut their water use by up to 12%. “This is a crucial outcome when every drop counts,” Nemati said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-nudges-that-save-water">Nudges that save water</h2>



Dropcountr doesn’t just show water use - it also delivers alerts when consumption nears more expensive rate tiers and flags potential leaks. These leak notifications were especially impactful.



When a continuous-use pattern (like water running for 72 hours straight) was detected, users were notified. Water use dropped 50% after a leak alert, then 30%, with a 9% reduction still seen six days later.



“The sharp drop suggests customers are paying attention and acting quickly,” Nemati said. “One major advantage is that they can detect leaks right away - sometimes before they cause damage or result in costly bills. That’s difficult with traditional billing systems, where usage is only seen after 30 or 60 days.”



The app also taps into social <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/psychological-poverty-greatly-impacts-decision-making/">psychology</a> by showing users how their water use stacks up against their more efficient neighbors. This appeal to social norms helps users set and maintain realistic conservation goals.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-beyond-quick-fixes">Beyond quick fixes</h2>



One of the most promising findings in the study was that these changes weren’t just short-lived. 



“We looked at water use 50 months out and still found sustained reductions,” Nemati said. “People weren’t just reacting once and forgetting. They stayed engaged.”



This long-term engagement stands in contrast to older methods still used by some water agencies. Despite having access to smart meter data, many utilities rely on mailed notices that may be too late or too technical to prompt meaningful change.



“People get <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/many-americans-cannot-afford-basic-water-services/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">water bills</a>, but the information may not be salient. Most bills report usage in cubic feet or units, which aren't easy to interpret,” noted Nemati. “What platforms like Dropcountr do well is make the data meaningful."



"People want to use water wisely. They just need timely, clear, and actionable feedback. These platforms give them that - and they work.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-future-proofing-water-use">Future-proofing water use</h2>



Although Dropcountr works best with smart meters - and many California homes still rely on manual readings - advanced metering infrastructure continues to spread.



As California prepares for stricter <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-is-now-the-driving-force-behind-droughts/">drought</a> and efficiency standards, Nemati urges water agencies to make better use of the data they already collect.



“We have the data,” he said. “Now we just need to use it in smarter ways. This study shows how a relatively inexpensive solution can help homeowners conserve and ease pressure on our water systems.”



As climate change continues to strain resources, digital tools like Dropcountr could play a vital role in building a water-smart California, one household at a time.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0928765525000247">Resource and Energy Economics</a>.



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Smartphone app helps households cut water use

As California faces intensifying droughts and tighter water regulations, a...

Two things often happen at the same time in a busy kitchen: plates clatter into the dishwasher and a mental note pops up that the soap dispenser is running low. The brain keeps both thoughts alive for a few seconds, steers the hands, and updates the grocery list. 



Scientists call this swift juggle “working memory,” yet most people know it simply as keeping track of what matters right now.



Researchers have spent decades mapping this mental scratchpad, but its quirks still surprise. The latest clue comes from the eyes. 



A fresh study suggests that the way a person’s <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/pupil-size-during-sleep-decides-if-new-or-old-memories-are-replayed/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">pupils change</a> while they concentrate hints at how well that mental scratchpad is working.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-working-memory-matters">Why working memory matters</h2>



Working memory does more than hold stray reminders; it stitches together phone digits until they are dialed, keeps track of a spoken sentence until the meaning lands, and buffers half-finished ideas during problem-solving. 



Unlike <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-does-our-brain-form-long-term-memories/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">long-term memory</a>, it works on a tight clock measured in seconds. Because the capacity is finite - typically three to seven items at once - small differences in efficiency can ripple through reading, mathematics, and decision-making.



Psychologists often compare working-memory scores among people of similar age, finding wide gaps. Some differences trace back to genetics, sleep quality, and stress. 



Others appear linked to how sharply someone focuses in the moment. Pinning down those fleeting attentional shifts has been tough, so a team at the <a href="https://www.uta.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Texas at Arlington</a> turned to a simple, involuntary signal from the eye.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-eyes-signal-focus-level">Eyes signal focus level</h2>



Assistant professor of psychology Matthew Robison and doctoral student Lauren D. Garner, both from UTA's <a href="https://camlab.uta.edu/lab-members/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CAM Lab</a>, recruited 179 undergraduate volunteers for a set of memory challenges designed to last only a few heartbeats. 



An eye-tracking camera, like the one an optometrist uses, recorded pupil size while each participant tried to remember colors, shapes, or letters flashed on a screen. The pupils were expected to widen in the dimly lit lab, yet they also fluctuated with mental effort.



“What we found was that the lowest performers on the tasks showed less <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/pupils-reveal-how-active-the-brain-is-even-during-sleep/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">pupil dilation</a>,” Robison explained. 



“For the highest-performing participants, pupil dilations were larger overall, and they were more discerning about the information they were asked to recall.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-working-memory-and-larger-pupils">Working memory and larger pupils</h2>



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/specific-eye-features-influence-how-others-perceive-us/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Pupil dilation</a> is controlled by the autonomic nervous system, the same circuitry that speeds the heartbeat under stress. 



Earlier research showed the pupils twitch in sync with challenges such as mental arithmetic, signaling rising cognitive load. 



This new work links that physical reaction directly to the accuracy of working memory: bigger, more precisely timed dilations tracked with sharper recall across the entire group.



The study appears in <a href="https://link.springer.com/journal/13414" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Attention, Perception &amp; Psychophysics</a>, and its key takeaway has immediate practical value. 



Teachers, coaches, and clinicians could someday use a non-invasive gaze sensor to see whether a student’s attention slips long before test scores reveal a problem.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-attention-and-cognitive-load">Attention and cognitive load</h2>



The eye-memory link lines up with a well-known theory called “<a href="https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1057/978-1-137-00772-8_677" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">resource allocation</a>,” which proposes that the brain funnels more energy - oxygen, glucose, and electrical activity - toward information flagged as important. 



The dilating pupil mirrors that surge. When the surge is weak or mistimed, fewer details make it onto the mental scratchpad.



Everyday distractions, from buzzing phones to background chatter, can sap that resource. 



On the flip side, practice with activities that demand steady focus, such as playing certain musical instruments or fast-paced video games, has been shown to nudge working-memory scores upward. 



Those lifestyle influences mesh neatly with the new pupil data, suggesting the eyes could become a quick biofeedback tool for attention training.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-classroom-and-clinic-uses">Classroom and clinic uses</h2>



Individualized instruction often starts with trial and error. A live readout of pupil patterns could speed the process by showing when a student is overwhelmed or under-engaged in real time. 



That information might guide a teacher to slow the pace, rephrase directions, or add a break exactly when it counts.



“We found that people who more intensely and consistently paid attention, as measured by their pupils being dilated more, performed better on the memory tasks,” Robison enthused.



“Importantly, we found high performers also showed more <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/pupil-size-reveals-hidden-cognitive-fatigue/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">pupil sensitivity</a> compared to low-performing participants. This is exciting research because it adds another valuable piece of the puzzle to our understanding of why working memory varies between individuals."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-keeping-working-memory-in-shape">Keeping working memory in shape</h2>



While future gadgets may monitor focus automatically, old-school habits still help. Brief pauses during dense reading let fresh material settle before more arrives. 



Organizing tidbits into tiny clusters - phone numbers into three short chunks, for example - reduces the load. 



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/practicing-mindfulness-can-quiet-the-noise-of-anxiety/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Mindfulness exercises</a> that train sustained attention have gained traction, and emerging evidence suggests they may slightly enlarge working-memory capacity over weeks of practice.



Even aerobic movement matters. Studies tracking middle-aged adults find that brisk walking improves blood flow to brain regions involved in executive control, indirectly supporting the memory buffer. 



The take-home message echoes common sense: whatever boosts overall <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/moderate-belly-fat-may-actually-boost-brain-health/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">brain health</a> tends to support the few precious slots on that internal notepad.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-pupils-working-memory-and-future-study">Pupils, working memory, and future study</h2>



The UT Arlington experiment adds a clear, measurable signpost to the study of working memory. By tying pupil behavior to test performance in 179 young adults, it builds a bridge between subjective focus and objective outcomes. 



Larger studies spanning different ages and cultures are already in the planning stages, aiming to see whether the same patterns hold in childhood development, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/taking-vitamin-d-supplements-may-add-years-to-your-life/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">aging</a>, and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mind-diet-may-protect-cognitive-health/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">cognitive disorders</a>.



If they do, tracking a tiny change in the eyes might soon guide personalized learning plans, aid early diagnoses of attention deficits, or help engineers design user interfaces that adapt to a person’s real-time mental load. 



For now, the findings serve as a reminder that the eyes are broadcasting more than mood or alertness - they may be giving away the secrets of how we juggle the small but vital tasks that keep life running smoothly.



The full study was published in the journal&nbsp;<a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.3758/s13414-024-02853-2" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Attention Perception &amp; Psychophysics</a>



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Scientists link pupil dilation to the brain’s all-important 'working memory' levels

Two things often happen at the same time in a...

If you’ve ever noticed how squirrels vastly outnumber foxes in your neighborhood - or seen the same car brands dominate parking lots - you’re observing a pattern that governs not just human-made environments, but the natural world at every scale.



This pattern, where a few species are extremely common while most remain rare, is called the “hollow curve” species-abundance distribution.



For nearly a century, ecologists have sought a unified model to explain it. Now, researchers from the <a href="https://www.virginia.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Virginia</a> (UVA) believe they’ve found that model.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-universal-pattern-in-nature">Universal pattern in nature</h2>



In a recent study, the team analyzed an enormous array of 30,000 datasets covering ecosystems from U.S. forests to the microbial colonies in the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/new-methane-producing-microbe-discovered-in-the-human-gut/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">human gut</a>. 



The researchers discovered that a mathematical model known as the “powerbend distribution” consistently describes how species are spread out. This applies to birds, trees, bacteria, and other organisms in communities across the planet.



“This is the first study to comprehensively examine all types of organisms, large and small,” said Martin Wu, professor of biology at UVA and co-author of the study. “We found that the powerbend distribution consistently fits communities of all life forms, habitats, and abundance scales.”



The powerbend model shows most species are rare, while a few are extremely common - a core pattern in ecology.



Wu explains this through an everyday example: “If you walk around UVA, you might see a lot of squirrels and, only once in a while, a raccoon or fox. If you look at cars on city streets, you’ll see a lot of Hondas, Toyotas, or Fords, but there are many other brands you only see every once in a while.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-estimating-life-we-can-t-see">Estimating life we can't see</h2>



The breakthrough isn’t just about better understanding nature - it also has practical implications for conservation and environmental monitoring. The powerbend model allows scientists to estimate the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/polar-light-sustains-biodiversity-over-millions-of-years/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">biodiversity</a> of a region without needing to count every individual organism.



“Previously, if I collected one gram of soil, I had no way of knowing how many bacterial species it contained,” Wu said. “Now that we have the model, I don’t need to enumerate every single cell in the soil and I can have a pretty good estimate.”



This is particularly important when dealing with <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/microbes-laid-the-foundation-for-early-life-on-earth/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">microbes</a>, which are notoriously difficult to grow and study using traditional lab techniques. Prior to the development of DNA sequencing tools around 2008, scientists struggled to survey microbial communities effectively.



Since then, technological advances have given microbiologists access to vast genetic data, transforming our understanding of microbes.



“You can go to a forest to survey trees or use binoculars to look at birds, but until recent DNA sequencing technologies became available, we couldn’t easily survey microbes,” Wu said. “Since 2008, there’s been an explosion of microbial survey data, and we’re learning a lot.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ecology-meets-math">Ecology meets math</h2>



Though Wu is a microbiologist by training, the turning point in the research came when two math-savvy graduate students - Yingnan Gao and Ahmed Abdullah - joined his lab. Their expertise allowed the team to rigorously test the powerbend distribution against real-world datasets across ecosystems, organisms, and regions.



The model even made its way into the classroom. “Using a thumb drive-sized DNA sequencer and a laptop, we did a real-time demonstration in the class when we surveyed the gut microbiome of a beloved professor known to students,” Wu said. “It was a great way to show the students what kind of microbes live in the gut.”



The exercise gave students the chance to become “microbe detectives” in a hands-on lab course focused on sequencing-based ecological surveys.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-pattern-stretches-across-life">Pattern stretches across life</h2>



One dataset in the study looked at the pattern of tree species across the United States. In Virginia, for instance, five species - red maple, loblolly pine, yellow poplar, sweetgum, and American holly - make up about 45% of the state’s 10.6 billion trees. The remaining 55% is spread across over 120 other species.



“Generally, you’ll find that 20% of tree species account for 80% of the total abundance,” Wu said. “This follows the Pareto Principle, a term coined by Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto, who found that 20% of the population controlled 80% of the wealth.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-formula-for-nature">A formula for nature</h2>



The discovery of the powerbend distribution as a consistent and predictive model offers scientists a new tool for tackling ecological questions. 



More than that, it reaffirms that despite the dizzying <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/microfossils-reveal-a-leap-in-lifes-complexity-2-4-billion-years-ago/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">complexity of life</a> on Earth, there are underlying patterns that unify everything from backyard birds to invisible bacteria.



As ecologists confront biodiversity loss and work to restore ecosystems, understanding natural species distribution patterns could be a crucial step forward. Thanks to the UVA team’s work, that understanding just got a lot clearer.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-59253-9" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature Communications</a>.



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Life's hidden pattern: Why most species are rare but a few rule the world

If you’ve ever noticed how squirrels vastly outnumber foxes in...

Anger flares up in traffic jams, board meetings, and kitchen quarrels alike. The rush of heat, the pounding heart, and the urges to shout or slam a door feel almost automatic. Most of us just want lash out and vent, hoping the anger will be gone as fast as it came.



For decades, people have sworn by “getting it out,” whether by screaming into a pillow or pummeling a punching bag. Others swear by the opposite approach: pause, breathe, let it pass. 



A new scientific sweep of the evidence puts these rival tactics head-to-head - and crowns a clear winner.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-venting-anger-myth-loses-steam">The 'venting anger' myth loses steam</h2>



After the second paragraph, it’s time to meet the researchers. Communication scholar <a href="https://comm.osu.edu/people/bushman.20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Brad Bushman</a> at <a href="https://osu.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ohio State University</a> has spent years testing the notion of catharsis. 



“Venting anger might sound like a good idea, but it’s actually counterproductive,” he says. 



His team, working with postdoctoral fellow <a href="https://sophiekja.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Sophie Kjærvik</a>, combed through 154 different studies with more than 10,000 people to sort myth from reality.



Their review shows that activities lowering bodily arousal - deep breathing, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mindfulness-protects-against-work-stress-burnout/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">mindfulness</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/meditation-slows-biological-aging-at-the-molecular-level/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">meditation</a>, even slow, controlled yoga - consistently push anger levels down. 



The setting hardly matters; results hold for solo exercises at home, therapist-guided sessions, and app-based programs. 



“Reducing arousal - and actually the physiological aspect of it - is really important,” Kjærvik explains.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-the-numbers-say">What the numbers say</h2>



Kjærvik’s meta-analysis, published in Clinical Psychology Review, found that every group studied - college students, retirees, people with intellectual disabilities, and individuals with criminal records - benefited from arousal-decreasing strategies. 



In stark contrast, jogging, hitting a bag, or smashing plates in a rage room showed little effect or even nudged anger upward. “To reduce anger, it is better to engage in activities that decrease arousal levels,” Bushman notes.



Meta-analyses of this size are rare in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ai-shows-better-emotional-intelligence-than-humans/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">emotion research</a>. By pooling so many participants, the team could spot small but steady patterns that single experiments miss. 



The consistency across gender, age, and cultural background signals that calming the body is a universal recipe, not a fad tied to one social-media trend.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-calm-beats-cardio">Calm beats cardio</h2>



Why would a brisk run fail where a quiet breath succeeds? Anger already revs the sympathetic nervous system - the body’s gas pedal. Adding more acceleration simply keeps the engine roaring. 



“Certain physical activities that increase arousal may be good for your heart, but they’re definitely not the best way to reduce anger,” Bushman adds.



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/yoga-can-reduce-stress-and-improve-brain-health/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Yoga</a> offers an intriguing twist. Though poses raise heart rate, the practice embeds steady breathing and focused attention, turning movement into meditation. 



“It was really interesting to see that progressive muscle relaxation and relaxation in general might be as effective as approaches such as mindfulness and meditation,” Kjærvik noted. 



“And yoga, which can be more arousing than meditation and mindfulness, is still a way of calming and focusing on your breath that has a similar effect in reducing anger.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-inside-the-body-s-alarm-system">Inside the body's alarm system</h2>



Anger sparks a full-body alert: faster heartbeat, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/drinking-from-plastic-bottles-linked-to-high-blood-pressure-and-heart-problems/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">higher blood pressure</a>, surging adrenaline. The sympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system primes muscles for fight or flight, while its calmer twin - the parasympathetic branch - waits to dial everything back. 



Techniques that lengthen exhales or tense and release muscles flip that switch sooner, cooling the system before words or fists fly.



Scientists think this quick reset evolved because it lets social groups resolve conflicts without lasting harm. Lowering arousal gives the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/new-brain-pathways-identified-as-being-unique-to-humans/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">prefrontal cortex</a> - our planning center - time to weigh consequences, recall past regrets, and choose words more carefully. 



The payoff is fewer broken dishes, lower stress hormones, and relationships that bounce back instead of break.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-reducing-anger-without-venting">Reducing anger without venting</h2>



Apps offering guided breathing now sit within arm’s reach, many of them free of charge. A simple routine - inhale for four counts, exhale for six - can drop heart rate within a minute. 



Two cycles of progressive muscle relaxation ease shoulder knots that broadcast irritability.



A five-minute mindfulness session on YouTube can do the same job as a longer appointment when time is tight. 



“It’s really a battle because angry people want to vent, but our research shows that any good feeling we get from venting actually reinforces aggression,” Bushman says.



For situations demanding movement, try a slow walk around the block. Keep the pace easy enough to hold a steady conversation. Pair it with attention to your surroundings - the hum of cicadas, the scent of fresh-cut grass. 



Gentle motion helps metabolize <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/stress-hormones-rise-during-sleep-to-prepare-your-body-for-the-day/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">stress hormones</a> without driving arousal higher, and nature’s small details pull focus away from rumination.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-does-any-of-this-matter">Why does any of this matter?</h2>



Unchecked anger strains marriages, work teams, and the cardiovascular system. Over months, it can hardwire aggressive habits. 



The new review shows there’s nothing inevitable about that spiral; swapping venting for calming returns control to the driver’s seat. 



Because most interventions cost little or nothing, workplaces, prisons, and schools can roll them out without red tape. Even a coach’s whistle can cue athletes to pause for three slow breaths before play resumes.



Parents can apply the same thinking at home. Instead of sending a child to “go punch a pillow,” suggest three balloon-slow breaths, a sip of water, and a quiet corner until color fades from their cheeks. 



Modeling the strategy yourself teaches by example and keeps the living room peaceful.



Cooling down trumps blowing up. Evidence from more than 10,000 volunteers says so, and the message holds whether you are nine or ninety. 



So next time fury rises, skip the punching bag and breathe. Your heart - and everyone within earshot - will thank you.



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0272735824000357?via%3Dihub" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Clinical Psychology Review</a>.



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'Venting' doesn't reduce anger, so psychologists advise patients to do this instead

Anger flares up in traffic jams, board meetings, and kitchen...

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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Worms dominated seas before dinosaurs

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



The full study was published in the journal Current Biology.



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Earth's oldest forest found in the United States

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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The environmental problem we actually solved

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

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

<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/Fi2OeEwuzRM?si=vTyd2m9FMmtyWkex
</div></figure>







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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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What to plant in your garden in mid-July

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

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

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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.



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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

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

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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

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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

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

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

[sendtonews key="6HyfrAJTBI-1831843-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

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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