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...

Orange cats are everywhere, from the iconic character Garfield to the independent tabby lounging in the sun. But what gives orange cats their signature color? For decades, the answer remained a mystery to scientists.



Now, researchers at <a href="https://www.med.stanford.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Stanford Medicine</a> and <a href="https://www.kyushu-u.ac.jp/en/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Kyushu University</a> have cracked the code. The answer lies in a gene called Arhgap36. This gene behaves strangely in orange cats, turning their fur a vivid shade of orange.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-orange-cats-are-rare">Why orange cats are rare</h2>



Scientists have known for years that the orange trait in cats is linked to the X chromosome. Male cats, with their single X chromosome, only need one copy of the gene to flaunt their ginger fur. 



Females, however, require two copies to be completely orange. Otherwise, they become calicos or tortoiseshells, their fur a patchwork of orange, black, and white.



“In a number of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/bengal-cats-wild-appearance-is-surprisingly-tied-to-domestic-cats/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">species</a> that have yellow or orange pigment, those mutations almost exclusively occur in one of two genes, and neither of those genes are sex-linked,” explained Christopher Kaelin, a senior scientist in genetics and lead author of the study.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-genetic-mystery-of-cat-colors">Genetic mystery of cat colors</h2>



Kaelin and his team had a hunch the answer was related to the X chromosome. But which gene? They collected DNA samples from spay and neuter clinics, comparing orange cats to non-orange cats. 



After analyzing the genomes, the researchers found 51 genetic variants that could explain the orange trait. They narrowed it down to three. 



One stood out: Arhgap36. A tiny deletion in this gene cranked up its activity in pigment cells. Normally, Arhgap36 keeps a low profile, mainly operating in nerve tissues and cancer cells. But in orange cats, it’s louder than a kitten demanding breakfast.



“Arhgap36 is not expressed in mouse pigment cells, in human pigment cells or in cat pigment cells from non-orange cats,” Kaelin said. 



“The mutation in orange cats seems to turn on Arhgap36 expression in a cell type, the pigment cell, where it’s not normally expressed.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-orange-cats-are-usually-male">Orange cats are usually male</h2>



Orange cats are predominantly male, and it all comes down to the X chromosome. Males have one X and one Y chromosome. If that X carries the orange gene, they’re entirely orange. 



Females, with two X chromosomes, need the orange <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/discovery-evolution-not-random-gene-families-pangenome-influence-called-revolutionary/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">gene</a> on both to sport a solid ginger coat. If a female inherits only one copy, she becomes a mosaic of orange and black.



This randomness creates the striking tortoiseshell and calico patterns. Some cells activate the orange gene, while others activate the black gene. The result? A coat that’s as unpredictable as a cat’s mood.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-shared-genetic-breakthrough">A shared genetic breakthrough</h2>



While Stanford scientists zeroed in on Arhgap36, researchers at Kyushu University pursued a parallel investigation. Professor Hiroyuki Sasaki and his team examined DNA from 18 cats including 10 that were orange. The findings matched those at Stanford.



“This was such strong evidence that even at this stage, we were confident that Arhgap36 was the orange gene,” said Sasaki.



The researchers expanded their study, analyzing <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/everyday-dna-damage-requires-constant-repair-by-cells-to-prevent-disease/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">DNA</a> from 49 more cats, and the same pattern emerged. The Arhgap36 deletion consistently appeared in orange cats but not in others.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-origins-of-orange-fur">Origins of orange fur</h2>



Where did this mutation come from? Kaelin believes it emerged early in domestication. Ancient paintings dating back to the 12th century depict calico cats, suggesting the mutation is centuries old.



“This is something that arose in the domestic cat, probably early on in the domestication process,” Kaelin said.



Sasaki wants to dig deeper. He plans to study ancient Egyptian cat mummies, searching for the orange gene. The goal? To pinpoint when and where the mutation first appeared.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-looking-at-the-gene-beyond-fur">Looking at the gene beyond fur</h2>



Arhgap36 isn’t just about orange fur. In other animals, it’s linked to cancer and nerve development. Could it affect more than just a cat’s coat? Sasaki thinks so.



“For example, many cat owners swear by the idea that different coat colors and patterns are linked with different personalities,” he said. “There’s no scientific evidence for this yet, but it’s an intriguing idea and one I’d love to explore further.”



The gene could also impact brain and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/oxytocin-holds-the-keys-to-both-your-heart-and-your-memory/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">hormone</a> function. Sasaki’s team found the gene active in several tissues, not just skin cells. Whether this activity alters behavior or health is still a mystery.



The discovery of Arhgap36 as the orange gene is just the beginning. Sasaki and Kaelin plan to investigate how the gene influences pigment production. 



The experts are also exploring its role in cancer and skin conditions, hoping to uncover broader implications for both cats and humans.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-orange-cat-mystery-solved">Orange cat mystery solved</h2>



For over a century, the orange gene remained a mystery, hiding in plain sight. Now, with the discovery of Arhgap36, scientists are one step closer to understanding how cats get their colors. But the story isn’t over.



Sasaki’s ultimate goal is to recreate the mutation in cat cell cultures, observing its effects in real time. Meanwhile, Kaelin wants to map out the entire molecular pathway, tracing how a simple gene deletion transforms a basic pigment cell into a beacon of orange fur.



From the dusty streets of ancient Egypt to the modern lab, orange cats have carried this genetic quirk for centuries. And as researchers continue to peel back the layers of DNA, the secrets of these fiery felines may prove to be more profound than anyone imagined.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(25)00391-4" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Current Biology</a>.



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Why are some cats orange? Scientists have finally found the answer

Orange cats are everywhere, from the iconic character Garfield to...

A colossal burst of solar radiation struck Earth 14,300 years ago, showering the planet with high-energy particles and leaving behind an unmistakable spike in radiocarbon. Until now, scientists could not gauge the true scale of that ancient storm.



A newly developed chemistry-climate model, SOCOL:14C-Ex, has changed that - showing the Ice-Age event to be the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/strong-geomagnetic-solar-storm-alert-issued-auroras-expected-farther-south/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">most intense</a> solar storm ever identified. It was 18 percent stronger than the famous AD 775 outburst and more than 500 times the power of any particle storm recorded by modern satellites.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-hidden-signals-in-tree-rings">Hidden signals in tree rings</h2>



Researchers first noticed an abrupt jump in radiocarbon (14C) concentrations for the year 12350 BCE when they analyzed larch trunks preserved beneath Alpine glaciers. 



Such sharp rises, called Miyake events, occur when torrents of charged particles collide with the upper atmosphere, supercharging the natural production of cosmogenic isotopes.



Similar spikes near 775 CE and 994 CE have already revolutionized archaeological dating. The <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ice-age-climate-shifts-changed-early-human-migration-patterns/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ice-Age</a> signal, however, lay outside the warm-climate Holocene epoch, and existing models could not simulate isotope chemistry under glacial conditions.



That impasse motivated postdoctoral scientist Kseniia Golubenko and professor Ilya Usoskin at the <a href="https://www.oulu.fi/en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Oulu</a>, Finland, to create SOCOL:14C-Ex. 



The model couples atmospheric circulation, photochemistry, and radiocarbon pathways, then plugs in ancient ice-sheet boundaries, lower sea levels and a weaker geomagnetic field. Validated against the well-studied CE 775 event, the framework was ready for the Late-Glacial mystery.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-quantifying-the-ice-age-blast">Quantifying the Ice Age blast</h2>



Running the 12350 BC data through SOCOL:14C-Ex revealed particle fluxes dwarfing anything in the satellite era.



“Compared to the largest event of the modern satellite era - the 2005 particle storm - the ancient 12350 BCE event was over 500 times more intense, according to our estimates,” Golubenko said. 



The model puts the radiation spike 18 percent above the CE 775 benchmark, establishing a new solar ceiling. Other intense solar storms are known - around 663 BCE, 5259 BCE and 7176 BCE - yet none match this Ice-Age titan.



“The ancient event in 12350 BCE is the only known extreme solar particle event outside of the Holocene epoch, the past ~12000 years of stable warm climate,” Golubenko stated. That fact alone widens the time frame scientists must consider when assessing solar variability.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-tool-for-radiocarbon-dating">A tool for radiocarbon dating</h2>



Radiocarbon researchers often struggle to convert “floating” chronologies - relative sequences with no fixed calendar anchor - into absolute timelines. Sudden global 14C surges are perfect anchors.



“Miyake events allow us to pin down exact calendar years in floating archaeological chronologies,” Usoskin explained. 



The new Late-Glacial marker could help synchronize disparate records from the waning Ice Age: cave-paint dates, retreating ice margins, even megafaunal <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/at-least-two-of-earths-mass-extinctions-caused-by-massive-supernova-explosions/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">extinctions</a>.



SOCOL:14C-Ex also frees scientists from the Holocene boundary, letting them mine older wood, peat, and stalagmite archives for yet-undetected spikes. The possibility of mapping a full 30,000-year record of solar storms has now moved within reach.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-risks-of-intense-solar-storms">Risks of intense solar storms </h2>



Until this study, theorists debated whether the AD 775 storm represented a physical upper limit for solar particle acceleration. The Ice-Age event proves the Sun can exceed that benchmark.



“This event establishes a new worst-case scenario,” Golubenko noted. “Understanding its scale is critical for evaluating the risks posed by future solar storms to modern infrastructure like satellites, power grids, and communication systems.”



Modern civilization has never faced anything close to the Ice-Age blast. The 1989 Quebec blackout came from a geomagnetic storm far weaker; the Carrington flare of 1859, often cited as a dire warning, did not involve a massive particle shower. 



A repeat of the 12350 BCE storm today could cripple <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/burning-up-of-satellites-severely-harms-ozone-recovery/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">satellite constellations</a>, corrupt navigation signals, and overload long-distance transmission lines.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-collaborative-effort-across-disciplines"><a></a>A collaborative effort across disciplines</h2>



The study  brings together geophysicists, atmospheric chemists and dendrochronologists from Finland, France, and Switzerland under the leadership of Edouard Bard of the <a href="https://www.cerege.fr/en/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CEREGE</a>. 



The research blended laboratory isotope measurements, supercomputer modeling, and cross-checks against newly unearthed timber from the French Alps.



After confirming the Ice-Age spike’s magnitude, the team calculated its climatic footprint. Although the particle deluge doubled stratospheric ionization rates for months, temperature effects appear minimal, mirroring results from younger Miyake events. 



The principal legacy is the radiocarbon “barcode” now locked into prehistoric archives worldwide.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-hunting-for-older-solar-storms">Hunting for older solar storms</h2>



With SOCOL:14C-Ex validated for glacial settings, Golubenko and colleagues plan to scan older growth rings and polar ice for further anomalies. Each discovery will refine models of solar dynamics and help planners gauge the rare but existential threat posed by extreme <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/space-weather-poses-significant-risks-to-railway-safety/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">space weather</a>.



“Our new model lifts the existing limitation to the Holocene and extends our ability to analyze radiocarbon data even for glacial climate conditions.” 



Armed with that capability, scientists can now track the Sun’s wildest moods across multiple ice ages, offering both a clearer view of our star’s potential and a sterner test for the resilience of modern technology.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0012821X25001827?via%3Dihub" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Earth and Planetary Science Letters</a>.



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Most intense solar storm ever recorded hit Earth 14,300 years ago

A colossal burst of solar radiation struck Earth 14,300 years...

Rays,Of,Light,Passing,Through,Cyberspace.,Communication,Network,Concept.

At the scale of atoms and electrons, walls are not always walls. A particle that lacks the energy to climb a barrier can still appear on the far side, a curiosity known as “quantum tunneling.” 



In the heart of the Sun, this quirk lets hydrogen nuclei fuse quickly enough to keep daylight streaming toward Earth.



Physicists have puzzled over how long the hop through the barrier actually takes. Some experiments hinted that the leap happens so swiftly that it appears <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dark-matter-may-consist-of-particles-that-travel-faster-than-light/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">faster than light</a>, brushing against the limits set by Einstein’s special relativity. 



Others clocked a small but finite delay. The debate has rolled on because time, slippery even in classical physics, becomes downright elusive in the quantum world.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-quantum-tunneling-defies-classical-limits">Quantum tunneling defies classical limits</h2>



Classical rules say a baseball that can’t clear a fence bounces back, end of story. In the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-faster-than-light-tachyons-fit-into-the-special-theory-of-relativity/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">quantum picture</a>, particles behave as waves that seep into and even through obstacles. 



A sliver of the wave survives inside the forbidden zone, giving the particle a genuine chance to show up on the other side. 



Engineers tap that chance in flash memory, Josephson junctions, and scanning tunneling microscopes that map surfaces atom by atom.



Because the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dark-photon-theory-casts-doubt-on-double-slit-experiment-quantum-light-interference-pattern/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">wave spreads out</a>, deciding where to mark the particle’s position is tricky. 



Earlier timing experiments fixed on the crest of the outgoing wave and reported that the particle covered more ground than a free-flying counterpart in the same span, implying superluminal travel. 



Those results stirred excitement but also skepticism, as the crest is a moving pattern, not a point-like traveler.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-trying-to-define-time">Trying to define "time"</h2>



Physicists Patrik Schach and Enno Giese of <a href="https://www.tu-darmstadt.de/index.en.jsp" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">TU Darmstadt</a> think the stopwatch itself was misread. “But the particle does not follow a path in the classical sense,” objects Giese. 



If you can’t pin down where the traveler is, measuring when it arrives gets murky. Instead of treating the atom as a marble darting through a tunnel, the pair propose using the atom as its own clock.



Their design, outlined in Science Advances, borrows a page from atomic timekeeping. They prepare each atom in a blend of two <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/quantum-oddity-points-to-new-class-of-subatomic-particles-fractional-charges-excitons/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">internal energy states</a> and send it toward an optical barrier. 



With a technique akin to a Ramsey sequence, the two states tick against each other while the atom either tunnels or reflects. A reference atom that faces no barrier runs alongside, giving a direct comparison.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-pocket-watches-and-quantum-tunnels">Pocket watches and quantum tunnels</h2>



“Time is what you read off a clock.” Einstein’s quip fits snugly here. The oscillation between the two energy levels works like a wristwatch small enough to ride the atom. 



If tunneling slows the tick, the phase between the levels shifts. Detecting that shift after a second laser pulse reveals how much time elapsed during the barrier encounter.



Calculations show the tunneled clock lags by about 10^-26 seconds - roughly a hundred septillionths of a second. That delay, though vanishingly small, is measurable with clouds of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/edge-state-atoms-how-electrons-find-their-groove-in-frictionless-flow/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ultracold atoms</a> whose collective signal boosts sensitivity. 



The approach dodges the need to guess where the particle is at each instant and stays faithful to quantum principles.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-building-a-fair-stopwatch">Building a fair stopwatch</h2>



A companion atom that never meets the barrier keeps regular time, letting researchers spot any lag or lead. “The tunneled clock is slightly older than the other,” says Schach. 



The outcome undercuts earlier claims of speeds beyond light and reframes the question: tunneling might feel instantaneous, yet its inner clock shows the journey costs a pinch of time.



Capturing such a slight slippage is no picnic. Lasers must maintain phase stability with dizzying precision, and stray magnetic fields must be kept in check. 



Using atom clouds spreads the work over many identically prepared clocks, and raising the transition frequency - much like switching from a wristwatch to an optical clock - amplifies the effect.



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



Sorting out tunneling time is more than settling an academic quarrel. Quantum engineers push devices toward ever <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/images-of-single-atoms-moving-freely-through-space-captured-for-the-first-time/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">thinner barriers</a> in transistors and sensors, where picosecond wiggles can make or break performance. 



A crisp measure of tunneling time feeds directly into models that predict leakage currents, coherence losses, and heat budgets in next-generation chips and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ultra-cold-molecules-poised-to-revolutionize-quantum-computing/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">quantum processors</a>.



On the fundamental side, timing the hop tests how quantum mechanics meshes with relativity. 



If the Darmstadt scheme proves that tunneling never outpaces light once the clock rides with the particle, one more apparent paradox evaporates, tightening the weave between the two towering theories of modern physics.



“We are currently discussing this idea with experimental colleagues and are in contact with our project partners,” adds Giese.



Laboratories already pushing atom interferometers to probe gravity or hunt dark matter may pivot to give the tunneling clock a spin. 



Success would not just timestamp a famous quantum trick; it would hand scientists a new metrological tool, ready to keep pace with particles that treat walls like suggestions rather than commands.



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adl6078" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Science Advances</a>.



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Breaking the light speed barrier with quantum tunneling – the debate gets heated

At the scale of atoms and electrons, walls are not...

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Scientists have long mapped separate brain areas for sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell. Yet new research reveals that when we focus sharply on any of those senses, signals converge on the same two structures buried deep in the brain - the midbrain reticular formation and the central thalamus.



This finding highlights a shared neural pathway that sustains <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/our-brain-stops-paying-attention-to-repeated-distractions/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">attention</a> and wakefulness and could inspire therapies for coma, epilepsy, and attention-deficit disorders.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-senses-in-a-single-brain-region">Senses in a single brain region</h2>



Research over the past century has shown that visual scenes activate the occipital cortex, melodies light up the temporal lobes, and so forth.



“We were expecting to find activity on shared networks, but when we saw all the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/our-sense-of-smell-and-different-odors-can-influence-how-we-see-colors/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">senses</a> light up the same central brain regions while a test subject was focusing, it was really astonishing,” said Aya Khalaf, a postdoctoral associate in neurology at <a href="https://medicine.yale.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Yale School of Medicine</a> and lead author of the study.



Those two regions - the reticular formation, a mesh of neurons in the upper brainstem, and the intralaminar and mediodorsal nuclei of the thalamus - form part of the so-called subcortical arousal system, a set of circuits long suspected to regulate alertness and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/consciousness-may-stem-from-unseen-dimensions-beyond-our-reality/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">consciousness</a>.



Previous work had linked these hubs to vigilance by studying patients emerging from coma or experiencing absence seizures. But most of those experiments examined responses to a single type of stimulus, for example flashing lights or chirping sounds.



Khalaf and colleagues asked the broader question: do different senses share the same arousal circuitry when people deliberately pay attention?



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-massive-data-mine">A massive data mine</h2>



To answer that, the team turned to the publicly available <a href="https://www.humanconnectome.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Human Connectome Project</a> and other repositories, assembling functional MRI scans from 1,561 healthy adults.



Across 11 tasks, participants viewed moving shapes, listened to spoken stories, sampled liquid tastants, or felt puffs of air on their fingertips. Each task included abrupt cues that forced subjects to switch attention - for instance, a sudden change in picture orientation or a surprise tone embedded in white noise.



The investigators processed more than 500 hours of scan data through a pipeline that removed head motion and physiological noise, then aligned brain volumes to a common atlas.



In every sensory domain, when a cue demanded rapid attentional re-orientation, blood-oxygen signals spiked in the reticular formation and the central thalamus. The effect was absent or minimal during passive stimulation, underscoring the importance of active engagement.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-consciousness-in-the-brain">Consciousness in the brain</h2>



Why would a taste test and a vision task end up at the same neural address? The authors propose that the midbrain reticular formation integrates sudden sensory changes and broadcasts a “wake-up” volley to the thalamus, which relays it to widespread cortical areas.



That burst synchronizes cortical rhythms, priming the brain to process incoming information. The scheme dovetails with classical animal studies showing that electrical stimulation of the reticular formation induces cortical desynchronization and behavioral arousal, while lesions produce stupor.



“It tells us how important this brain region is and what it could mean in efforts to restore consciousness,” Khalaf said.



“This has also given us insights into how things work normally in the brain. It’s really a step forward in our understanding of awareness and consciousness,” said senior author Hal Blumenfeld, a neurologist at Yale.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-awakening-senses-in-the-brain">Awakening senses in the brain</h2>



Because the same deep-brain hubs fire regardless of which sense is active, treatments aimed at modulating those hubs could benefit diverse conditions.



Drugs that enhance thalamic neurotransmission, for instance, might improve focus in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/autism-and-adhd-disorders-directly-linked-amount-of-time-kids-spend-on-screens/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">attention deficit hyperactivity disorder</a>. Conversely, overactivity in the arousal circuit has been implicated in insomnia; dampening the circuitry could help induce sleep.



The results also support ongoing trials that deliver low-intensity ultrasound or deep-brain electrodes to the central thalamus in patients with disorders of consciousness. 



If attention triggers the thalamus to “switch on” the cortex, stimulating it directly might help rouse patients who are minimally conscious.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-rethinking-sensory-rehabilitation"><a></a>Rethinking sensory rehabilitation</h2>



The discovery challenges sensory-specific training programs that ignore subcortical commonalities. 



For example, visual rehabilitation for <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/stroke-risk-is-elevated-by-air-pollution-and-traffic-noise/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">stroke</a> survivors may benefit from pairing attentional cues with tactile or auditory tasks to engage the shared arousal pathway.



Likewise, virtual-reality therapies that bombard users with multi-sensory surprises might more effectively sharpen attentional control.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-future-research-directions">Future research directions </h2>



The Yale team plans to refine the timeline of activation using magnetoencephalography, which offers millisecond resolution. They also hope to dissect the frequency bands that link the thalamus to frontal and parietal cortices during attentional jumps. 



Such work could reveal whether gamma-band bursts or alpha-band suppression carry the critical “wake-up” message.



Another frontier involves patients. Investigators will compare responses in healthy volunteers with those in people who have attention deficits or who are emerging from anaesthesia. 



Identifying a lost or delayed thalamic spike could serve as a biomarker for impaired consciousness.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-brain-regions-and-the-senses">Brain regions and the senses</h2>



For now, the study establishes the midbrain reticular formation and central thalamus as the universal relay through which sight, sound, taste, and touch gain conscious entry - at least when our minds snap to attention.



By showing that “all the senses light up the same central brain regions,” it confirms that consciousness depends not only on specialized cortical maps but also on a common deep-brain gatekeeper. 



Therapies that target this gatekeeper may eventually help restore awareness where it has dimmed and sharpen it where it wanders.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053811925002277?via%3Dihub" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NeuroImage</a>.



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Scientists discover a brain region that connects all the senses

Scientists have long mapped separate brain areas for sight, hearing,...

An unprecedented survey of nearly 5,500 plant communities across 119 regions has uncovered a hidden ecological deficit: in landscapes with heavy human pressure, typical habitats contain barely one-fifth of the species they could support.



The international <a href="https://macroecology.ut.ee/en/darkdivnet/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">DarkDivNet</a> consortium - whose members include the Biodiversity and Evolution Research Group at the <a href="https://www.ehu.eus/en/en-home" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of the Basque Country</a> (UPV/EHU) - reached this conclusion by analyzing “dark diversity,” the pool of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-plant-diversity-can-help-combat-climate-change/%C3%B9" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">plant</a> species that should thrive in a site yet are absent.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-measuring-human-pressure-on-plants">Measuring human pressure on plants</h2>



Conventional field studies tally the species that are present, but the DarkDivNet team flipped that approach. 



For every one-hectare plot, the researchers used climate, soil, and regional species pools to predict the full roster of plants likely to live there under natural conditions. They compared this “potential community” with the species that actually grew on the ground. 



Conventional approaches to measuring <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/feeding-the-world-without-harming-nature-the-complex-balance-of-farming/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">biodiversity</a>, which focus solely on counting the species currently present and ignore those that could potentially inhabit an area, often downplay the full extent of human influence on ecosystems.



Because the technique captures loss before it becomes obvious, it serves as an early-warning system and a yard-stick for restoration goals.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-from-pristine-reserves-to-patchy-farmlands"><a></a>From pristine reserves to patchy farmlands</h2>



The DarkDivNet project was conceived by Meelis Pärtel of the <a href="https://ut.ee/en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Tartu</a> and launched in 2018. Since then, research teams on every continent have followed a single protocol to ensure results are comparable.



One contribution came from lecturers Idoia Biurrun-Galarraga and Juan Antonio Campos-Prieto (UPV/EHU), who mapped 55 plots in Spain’s Gorbeia Nature Reserve, focusing on beech woods and upland heaths. 



Data gathering spanned five field seasons and navigated hurdles such as COVID-19 travel bans and political unrest affecting partner institutions.



To rate human pressure, the scientists turned to the <a href="https://hub.arcgis.com/maps/65518e782be04e7db31de65d53d591a9/about" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Human Footprint Index</a>, a composite measure that integrates population density, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/using-more-land-agricultural-expansion-will-harm-climate-and-biodiversity/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">land-use</a> conversion, and infrastructure such as roads. Scores ranged from virtually undisturbed wilderness to intensively farmed or urbanized territory.



The resulting pattern was stark. Sites in low-footprint zones harbored about one-third of their potential species - already a significant shortfall caused mainly by natural dispersal limits. Where the footprint was high, realized diversity slumped to 20 percent.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-human-pressure-beyond-plant-life">Human pressure beyond plant life</h2>



The deficit is not confined to places where bulldozers roar or fields extend to the horizon. Modelling showed that roads, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/understanding-how-air-pollution-forms-may-help-us-prevent-it/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">pollution</a>, and land-use change depress diversity hundreds of kilometers away, even inside protected areas.



According to the authors, the results “are alarming because they show that human disturbance exerts a much greater impact than initially thought, even reaching protected areas far from the source of human impact. 



Pollution, deforestation, overgrazing, and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fewer-forest-fires-happen-today-than-in-the-past-ironically-causes-bigger-issues/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">forest fires</a> can exclude plant species from their natural habitats, preventing them from recolonizing.”



Yet the study did uncover a mitigating factor. Landscapes in which at least one-third of total area remains intact fare markedly better; species stranded in little-touched blocks can drift back into damaged patches.



“The negative influence of human activity was less pronounced when at least one third of a region's area remained well preserved, which supports the global goal of protecting 30% of the planet's surface,” the authors wrote. 



The finding lends empirical weight to the “30 by 30” conservation target adopted in the 2022 <a href="https://www.cbd.int/gbf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-dark-diversity-and-hidden-issues">Dark diversity and hidden issues</h2>



Identifying which species should be present but are missing allows land managers to diagnose underlying problems - be it altered fire regimes, livestock browsing, or lost <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/pollinators-face-extinction-risk-due-to-climate-change/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">pollinators</a> - and to direct re-introductions where they stand a fighting chance. 



In restoration projects, the metric can reveal whether ecosystem recovery from human disturbance is on track long before plant counts return to pre-disturbance numbers.



Because the same protocol works in grasslands, forests, and wetlands, DarkDivNet data provide a common currency for comparing impacts and gauging trade-offs among land-use policies worldwide. 



The approach can also highlight priority corridors between intact refuges, where recolonization pressure is greatest.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-future-research-directions">Future research directions </h2>



The network plans to extend its reach to under-sampled biomes and to layer animal and fungal dark-diversity maps onto the botanical baseline, producing a multidimensional picture of ecological debt. 



Remote-sensing teams are testing whether patterns of missing species leave spectral fingerprints detectable by drones or satellites.



For now, the project delivers a sobering message: even where forests still stand tall and fields appear green, a silent erosion is under way.



By documenting both visible and invisible losses, dark-diversity analysis reveals the full scope of human influence - and spotlights how much of the living world can return if true refuges are safeguarded across at least 30 percent of every region.



The global tally of species we fail to see, in other words, may be the most important conservation number we need to track.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-08814-5" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature</a>.



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Human pressure has a hidden impact on plant diversity

An unprecedented survey of nearly 5,500 plant communities across 119...

Every third Friday of May, we pause to recognize the fragile existence of endangered species. We share the planet with countless animals, plants, and insects. Yet, many of them are vanishing right before our eyes. National Endangered Species Day urges us to take action before it’s too late.



The day was established in 2006 by the U.S. Congress to raise awareness about <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/world-wildlife-day-2025-a-global-call-to-protect-nature/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">species</a> at risk of extinction. But the issue goes back decades. Laws to protect endangered species have been around for over 40 years.



Today, the urgency remains the same. Species are still disappearing, and their habitats are under threat.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-makes-a-species-endangered">What makes a species endangered?</h2>



When the last of a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/saving-earths-most-endangered-plants-from-extinction-proving-difficult-botanic-gardens/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">species</a> vanishes, it’s gone forever. Endangered species hover dangerously close to that fate. Their numbers are so low that every birth counts, every death matters. Some hover in the thousands, others in the hundreds, and a few are down to mere tens.



Why do species disappear? The reasons are many. Habitat loss drives some to extinction. Climate change alters their environment, making it uninhabitable. Poaching and illegal trade push animals like rhinos and elephants to the brink.



Pollution seeps into ecosystems, poisoning marine life and birds. And sometimes, humans disrupt delicate ecosystems without realizing the consequences.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-ripple-effect-of-extinction">The ripple effect of extinction</h2>



When a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/most-endangered-primate-species-identified-in-new-report/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">species</a> vanishes, it doesn’t go quietly. The loss ripples through ecosystems. A predator disappears, and prey populations explode. Plants die off, and animals lose their food source. The web of life is fragile, and every species has a role.



Take pollinators, for instance. Bees, butterflies, and bats help plants reproduce. If they disappear, crops fail, and food chains collapse. The same goes for apex predators. 



When wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone, they restored balance by controlling deer populations. When keystone species vanish, chaos follows.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-learning-from-the-past">Learning from the past</h2>



In the early 1970s, the Endangered Species Act set strict guidelines for protecting at-risk <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-is-the-largest-threat-to-u-s-endangered-species/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">species</a> in the United States. It prohibited activities that could harm these animals and their habitats. It also laid the groundwork for conservation efforts worldwide.



Since then, thousands of species have been added to endangered lists. Some, like the bald eagle, have made remarkable recoveries. Others, like the vaquita porpoise, remain on the brink.



Today, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (<a href="https://iucn.org" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">IUCN</a>) tracks endangered species globally. Its Red List reveals a grim reality. Over 41,000 species face extinction. That includes more than a quarter of all mammals, one in eight birds, and a staggering 40% of amphibians.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-taking-action-on-endangered-species-day">Taking action on Endangered Species Day</h2>



National Endangered Species Day isn’t just about learning facts and figures. It’s about taking action. Conservation organizations host events, workshops, and fundraisers. Many zoos and nature centers offer guided tours, showing visitors how they care for endangered animals.



Some activities are simple yet impactful. Share photos of endangered species on social media. Spread the word about why these creatures matter. Support local conservation projects. 



Even small actions, like planting native flowers for bees or reducing plastic waste, can help protect fragile <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/earth-day-2025-what-were-really-fighting-for/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ecosystems</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-exploring-endangered-species-with-tech">Exploring endangered species with tech</h2>



Technology brings endangered species closer to home. Apps like <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">EarthSnap</a> engage people in documenting local wildlife, creating snapshots of biodiversity in real time.



With EarthSnap, users can photograph plants and animals to identify species, contributing to a growing database of endangered life forms. This information becomes valuable data for conservationists tracking population changes and habitat loss. 



Meanwhile, virtual reality experiences transport people to remote habitats, offering immersive glimpses of endangered ecosystems. By bringing these distant worlds closer, technology fosters connection and urgency - reminding us of what’s at stake if species continue to vanish.



Online databases like the IUCN Red List provide up-to-date information on endangered species. They reveal how many individuals remain, what threats they face, and what’s being done to save them. The goal is to make people aware - and inspire them to act.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-supporting-global-conservation-efforts">Supporting global conservation efforts</h2>



Conservation requires resources, time, and unwavering commitment. Organizations like the World Wildlife Federation and the <a href="https://janegoodall.org" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Jane Goodall Institute</a> work tirelessly to protect endangered species. They fund anti-poaching efforts, rehabilitate injured animals, and restore habitats.



Individuals can help too. Donate to wildlife organizations. Volunteer at local conservation centers. Adopt sustainable habits such as using less plastic or buying sustainably sourced products. Every choice, no matter how small, can make a difference.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-future-worth-protecting">A future worth protecting</h2>



National Endangered Species Day reminds us that time is running out for many species. The fate of these animals, plants, and insects isn’t set in stone. We have the power to change their stories.



Saving endangered species isn’t just about protecting animals. It’s about preserving ecosystems, supporting biodiversity, and ensuring a balanced, thriving planet for future generations. And that future starts with us.



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National Endangered Species Day: Protecting life on the brink

Every third Friday of May, we pause to recognize the...

Have you ever been stumped by a puzzle or problem, your brain stuck in a loop, and then suddenly the answer clicks? That mental clarity, the “aha!” moment, feels almost magical. 



According to a new study, these moments of insight don’t just feel good - they change your brain in lasting ways.



The research shows that sudden flashes of insight actually help us <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-human-brain-decides-which-memories-to-remember/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">remember information</a> better. They go beyond the thrill of discovery and reorganize how the brain processes what we've just learned.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-sudden-insights-in-the-brain">Sudden insights in the brain </h2>



Scientists from <a href="https://duke.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Duke University</a>, along with researchers from Humboldt University and Hamburg University in Germany, set out to understand what happens in the brain when we experience these moments. 



The findings, published in the journal Nature Communications, offer clues that could reshape how we approach <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/secrets-of-learning-how-our-brains-neurons-make-and-retrieve-memories/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">learning</a>, especially in classrooms.



“If you have an aha experience when solving something, you're actually more likely to remember the solution,” said study lead author Maxi Becker.



The team used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to observe what happens in the brain when people try to solve visual puzzles. 



These weren’t just any puzzles. They were black-and-white images with minimal detail that required participants to “fill in the blanks” and identify the object shown. It’s a test of perception that mirrors the kind of insight we use in everyday problem solving.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-insights-and-stronger-memories">Insights and stronger memories</h2>



For each puzzle they attempted, participants were asked whether they solved it through sudden insight or by working it out methodically. They also rated how certain they felt about their answer.



The researchers found a clear pattern. People were much more likely to remember the answers that came to them through insight than those they reached by logic alone. And the more confident they felt about their solution in the moment, the better their <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/memory-isnt-only-stored-in-our-brains-other-cells-can-remember-too/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">memory</a> of it days later.



“If you have an ‘aha! moment’ while learning something, it almost doubles your memory,” said study co-author Professor Roberto Cabeza. “There are few memory effects that are as powerful as this.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-brain-changes-during-eureka-moments">Brain changes during eureka moments</h2>



So what’s happening in the brain during these moments? The researchers discovered that insight triggers a burst of activity in the hippocampus - a part of the brain that’s deeply involved in forming memories. The stronger the insight, the more active this region becomes.



The experts also saw changes in how neurons fired in the brain’s ventral occipito-temporal cortex. This region helps us recognize visual patterns. After a person saw the hidden image in a new light, their brain actually changed how it represented the image.



“During these moments of insight, the brain reorganizes how it sees the image,” Becker explained.



On top of that, insight moments increased communication between different brain regions. “The different regions essentially communicate with each other more efficiently,” said Professor Cabeza.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-future-research-directions">Future research directions </h2>



This study looked at what happens in the brain right before and right after that moment of realization. But what about the in-between - the exact moment when things shift from confusion to clarity? That’s where the researchers are headed next.



“Insight is key for creativity,” Cabeza said. The results suggest that encouraging these moments in school could help students remember and understand material much better. 



The researchers noted that learning environments that encourage insight could boost <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-does-our-brain-form-long-term-memories/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">long-term memory</a> and understanding.



When learning sparks curiosity and discovery, the brain remembers. It turns out, those little lightbulb moments might be the best study tools we have.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What this means for everyday learning</h2>



These findings aren’t just for scientists or students. They apply to anyone trying to learn something new - whether it’s a skill, a concept, or a creative idea.



When you feel stuck, taking a break or changing your perspective might be just what your brain needs. Those sudden clicks of understanding aren’t random; they’re signs that your brain is actively working behind the scenes.



Creating space for insight - by staying <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/simple-brain-hack-switching-to-curious-mode-can-improve-learning/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">curious</a>, asking questions, or exploring problems from different angles - can make learning more meaningful and memorable.



The next time you have an “aha” moment, just remember - it's rewiring your brain for the better.



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-59355-4" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature Communications</a>.



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'Aha' moments change the brain in lasting ways

Have you ever been stumped by a puzzle or problem,...

Space turbulence may seem like something you’d never encounter, but it’s all around us. It shapes how stars form, how solar winds move, and even how charged particles affect satellites that are orbiting Earth.



Now, scientists have taken a massive leap in understanding these chaotic motions through the use of a powerful new computer simulation. The research was conducted by an international team of researchers led by the <a href="https://www.utoronto.ca/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Toronto</a>. 



The scientists built the most detailed model yet of magnetized turbulence in the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/earth-collided-with-an-interstellar-cloud-millions-of-years-ago/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">interstellar medium</a> (ISM) - the vast cloud of gas and particles between stars in our galaxy. 



To power this model, they relied on the <a href="https://doku.lrz.de/supermuc-ng-10745965.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">SuperMUC-NG</a> supercomputer in Germany.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-understanding-space-turbulence">Understanding space turbulence </h2>



“This is the first time we can study these phenomena at this level of precision and at these different scales,” said James Beattie, the study’s lead researcher.



The simulation is designed to explore how <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/plasma-can-bend-magnetic-fields-into-unique-shapes/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">magnetic fields</a> shape the behavior of turbulent gas in outer space. 



These magnetic fields are incredibly weak - millions of times less powerful than a fridge magnet. Yet, they play a major role in shaping the galaxy and influencing star formation. 



Understanding space turbulence could help answer long-standing questions about how stars and galaxies evolve.



“Turbulence remains one of the greatest unsolved problems in classical mechanics,” Beattie explained. “This despite the fact that turbulence is ubiquitous: from swirling milk in our coffee to chaotic flows in the oceans, solar wind, interstellar medium, even the plasma between galaxies."



The key distinction in astrophysical environments is the presence of magnetic fields, which fundamentally alter the nature of turbulent flows.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tracking-turbulence-at-every-scale">Tracking turbulence at every scale</h2>



The new model covers space on an enormous scale. The largest version simulates a cube that stretches 30 light-years across. But the real strength lies in its flexibility. 



Scientists can scale it down by a factor of 5,000 to study much smaller phenomena, like the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/the-solar-wind-which-creates-beautiful-auroras-on-earth-is-now-less-mysterious/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">solar wind</a> that flows from the Sun and affects Earth.



Even though space is almost empty compared to Earth, the motion of particles in space still generates magnetic fields and space turbulence. 



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/galactic-turbulence_Phantom-Galaxy_ESA_Webb_1m.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/galactic-turbulence_Phantom-Galaxy_ESA_Webb_1s.webp" alt="A composite image of the Phantom Galaxy and (inset) a high-resolution simulation of galactic turbulence with magnetic field lines in white. Credit: ESA/Webb" class="wp-image-1969918"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A composite image of the Phantom Galaxy and (inset) a high-resolution simulation of galactic turbulence with magnetic field lines in white. Click image to enlarge. Credit: ESA/Webb</figcaption></figure>



These fields are thought to be formed in much the same way as Earth's own magnetic field, which comes from the movement of molten material in its core.



The model captures these effects in finer detail than ever before. It also simulates wide changes in density - from areas that are nearly empty to denser regions like star-forming nebulas.



“What our simulation captures really well, is the extreme changes in density of the ISM, something previous models hadn't taken into account," said Beattie.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-shedding-light-on-star-formation">Shedding light on star formation</h2>



One of the most exciting uses of this simulation is understanding <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/serpens-nebula-image-reveals-how-stars-are-born/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">how stars are born</a>. Magnetic pressure, which pushes outward, fights against gravity as it tries to collapse gas clouds into stars.



“We know that magnetic pressure opposes star formation by pushing outward against gravity as it tries to collapse a star-forming nebula,” Beattie said. “Now we can quantify in detail what to expect from magnetic turbulence on those kinds of scales.”



This deeper level of detail gives scientists a clearer picture of when and how stars take shape in our galaxy.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-testing-the-space-turbulence-model">Testing the space turbulence model</h2>



The researchers are not stopping at theory. They are already testing the model against real-world data.



“We've already begun testing whether the model matches existing data from the solar wind and the Earth - and it’s looking very good,” said Beattie.



“This is very exciting because it means we can learn about <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/electron-activity-in-auroras-will-help-us-understand-space-weather/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">space weather</a> with our simulation. Space weather is very important because we’re talking about the charged particles that bombard satellites and humans in space and have other terrestrial effects.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-magnetic-turbulence-in-space">Magnetic turbulence in space</h2>



This model comes at a crucial moment. Observations of magnetic turbulence in space are becoming more detailed, thanks to new tools like the Square Kilometre Array (<a href="https://www.skao.int/en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">SKA</a>).



As these instruments gather data on <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mars-once-had-a-strong-magnetic-field-but-now-only-traces-remain/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">magnetic fields</a> and space turbulence throughout the galaxy, scientists need accurate simulations to make sense of it all.



Having a model that can scale across different sizes and account for complex changes in density gives researchers a much-needed tool. It helps them interpret what they see in the sky.



Beyond the science, there’s something almost poetic about turbulence. It’s a pattern that shows up everywhere - from cosmic plasma to your morning cup of coffee.



"I love doing turbulence research because of its universality,” noted Beattie. “It looks the same whether you’re looking at the plasma between galaxies, within galaxies, within the solar system, in a cup of coffee or in Van Gogh’s The Starry Night.



“There’s something very romantic about how it appears at all these different levels and I think that’s very exciting.”



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-025-02551-5" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature Astronomy</a>.



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Our Milky Way galaxy's magnetic turbulence captured in unprecedented detail

Space turbulence may seem like something you’d never encounter, but...

Bees don’t just huddle together and hope for the best in winter - they constantly prepare. Bees rely on the right kind of food to keep them going, but it’s not just about how much pollen they store. It’s about how many different plants that pollen comes from.



Researchers at Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg (<a href="https://www.uni-wuerzburg.de/en/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">JMU</a>) have been digging into this idea. They’ve been looking at how pollen variety affects honeybee <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/bees-have-unique-personalities-that-determine-whether-they-sting/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">colonies</a> when the temperature drops.



The study, part of the <a href="https://www.ictagrifood.eu/sites/default/files/BeeConnected%20-%20Project%20Seminar%202024%20presentation.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">BeeConnected project</a>, reveals something surprising - more diverse pollen can mean the difference between life and death for bees in the winter.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-diverse-pollen-as-a-lifeline-for-bees">Diverse pollen as a lifeline for bees</h2>



Think bees just eat anything sweet? Think again. <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/bees-sleep-like-humans-with-similar-brain-patterns/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Bees</a> need a balanced diet just like we do - proteins, vitamins, fats, and minerals. Pollen is packed with these nutrients, but not all pollen is the same.



“A rich and balanced diet not only ensures successful brood development, but it also promotes the overall health of the bee colony - and healthy bees are more resistant to stressors,” says Giulia Mainardi, a PhD student at JMU.



Bees in the study that feasted on a wide range of pollen in spring and autumn? They had a better shot at surviving the winter. It wasn’t just how much they ate - it was what they ate.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-winter-bees-survive-harsh-months">How winter bees survive harsh months</h2>



Not all <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/artificial-diet-offers-hope-for-saving-endangered-honey-bees/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">bees</a> are built for the cold. Summer bees live fast and die young. Winter bees are tough. They emerge in autumn, store more fat, and last through the cold months. But they need the right nutrition to develop strong bodies.



The researchers found that bees with access to diverse pollen sources before winter had stronger, healthier winter bees. 



These bees were more likely to keep the hive warm and resist diseases. It’s like a bee training camp - and the more diverse the diet, the better the soldiers.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-s-blooming-and-where">What’s blooming and where?</h2>



The researchers didn’t just look at pollen. They looked at where it was coming from - farms, forests, cities. They tracked pollen collection in Germany, France, and Greece. They wanted to see how landscapes shaped pollen diversity.



In autumn, agricultural areas shined. Farmers planting flower strips, cover crops, and using organic methods provided a surprising variety of pollen.



“We found that areas with high agricultural use provide bees with a higher diversity of pollen in autumn. This is probably also due to agro-environmental measures such as organic farming, flower strips and intercropping,” said Mainardi.



But in summer, the story flipped. Semi-natural areas, full of wild plants, had the edge. Bees foraging in these zones found a richer mix of pollen. Agricultural lands, by then, were tapped out - fields harvested, flowers gone.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-pollen-diversity-matters-for-bees">Why pollen diversity matters for bees</h2>



It wasn’t all about pollen, though. The researchers also looked at weather. Could more foraging days in warmer weather boost survival? Not as much as they thought.



The real game changer was pollen diversity. Even when the weather was harsh, bees with access to varied pollen survived better than those without.



“Our results underpin that the survival of colonies during winter depends not only on parasites like the Varroa mite and bad weather conditions but also on the quality of food resources,” said Steffan-Dewenter.



Warm winters might seem like a good thing. But for bees, it can be a double-edged sword. More mild days mean more foraging - but also more food burned through. Bees need enough pollen stored to handle those extra days of activity.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-farms-can-provide-essential-pollen">Farms can provide essential pollen</h2>



When people think of farms, they don’t always think of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/world-honey-bee-day-protecting-our-vital-pollinators/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">pollinator</a> havens. But the study found something surprising - farms can actually help bees, especially in autumn.



In agricultural landscapes, diverse flowering plants provided crucial late-season pollen. Organic farms, cover crops, and flower strips acted like a bee buffet, serving up a mix of nutrient-rich pollen just when bees needed it most.



But summer told a different story. Bees in semi-natural areas had the upper hand, with wild plants blooming after crops had finished flowering. It was a stark reminder - what works in one season may not work in another.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-diverse-pollen-benefits-beyond-bees">Diverse pollen benefits beyond bees</h2>



Honeybees aren’t the only ones that benefit from diverse pollen. Other pollinators - bumblebees, butterflies, and solitary bees - need varied food sources too. Diverse landscapes feed them all, keeping pollinator populations strong.



Farmers stand to gain, too. Pollinators are essential for crops. No bees, no fruit. No bees, fewer seeds. Ensuring a steady supply of diverse pollen keeps bees healthy and helps farmers harvest better crops.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-plant-it-and-they-will-thrive">Plant it and they will thrive</h2>



So, what now? The researchers’ advice is simple - plant more flowers, and plant more kinds of them. Not just in spring, not just in summer - bees need variety all year long.



Beekeepers should choose locations with diverse floral landscapes. Farmers can add cover crops and flower strips. For conservationists, protecting wild habitats can boost plant diversity.



Winter survival is more than just weathering the cold. It’s about what bees eat before the snow falls. And the more variety they get, the better their chances of seeing spring.



The study is published in the <a href="https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2664.70054" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Journal of Applied Ecology</a>. 



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Bee survival depends on more than just pollen abundance

Bees don’t just huddle together and hope for the best...

Picture this: You’re sipping a warm cup of tea or indulging in a square of dark chocolate. Delicious, right? Now imagine that same treats doing wonders for your heart by lowering your blood pressure. 



According to researchers from the University of Surrey, these tasty treats seem to be more than indulgences - they could help maintain blood pressure and overall cardiovascular health.



The study, recently published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, zeroes in on flavan-3-ols - plant compounds found in cocoa, tea, apples, and grapes.



The findings? Regular consumption of these <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/can-chocolate-survive-dna-research-may-help-save-cacao-trees/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">compounds</a> may lower blood pressure and improve blood vessel function. Who knew heart health could taste so good?



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-everyday-foods-that-lower-blood-pressure">Everyday foods that lower blood pressure</h2>



Flavan-3-ols may sound like something you’d find in a chemistry lab, but they’re actually hiding in your kitchen. These natural compounds are abundant in everyday foods like tea, dark <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/chocolate-could-be-the-next-probiotic-powerhouse/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">chocolate</a>, and apples.



The researchers analyzed data from 145 randomized controlled trials, and the results were intriguing. People who consumed more flavan-3-ols had lower blood pressure. 



But here’s the twist - in some cases, the effects of these compounds were comparable to certain blood pressure medications. Imagine getting a similar result from a cup of tea as you would from a pill.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-can-tea-and-chocolate-lower-blood-pressure">Can tea and chocolate lower blood pressure?</h2>



A hot mug of tea, a piece of dark chocolate melting in your mouth - it sounds too good to be true.



The study doesn’t suggest swapping medicine for a snack. But it does raise an interesting point: Certain <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/drinking-tea-every-day-proven-studies-to-delay-biological-aging-in-humans/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">foods</a> could play a supportive role in managing cardiovascular health.



People with high blood pressure saw the most significant benefits from flavan-3-ols. The takeaway? The foods you love might just love you back - if you consume them in moderation.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-benefits-beyond-blood-pressure">Benefits beyond blood pressure</h2>



Blood pressure wasn’t the only focus of this study. The researchers also took a closer look at the endothelium - the inner lining of blood vessels.



Think of it as the gateway for blood flow. When the endothelium functions well, blood flows smoothly. When it doesn’t, the risk of heart disease rises.



Flavan-3-ols seemed to strengthen this crucial lining, even in participants whose blood pressure didn’t budge. That means a square of dark chocolate or a few apple slices could potentially protect your heart in ways you can’t see but your body will feel.



Professor Christian Heiss, a cardiovascular medicine expert at the <a href="https://www.surrey.ac.uk" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Surrey</a> and the study’s lead author, is cautiously optimistic about the findings.



“The findings are encouraging for those looking for accessible ways to manage their blood pressure and support their heart health through enjoyable dietary changes," said Professor Heiss.



"Incorporating small amounts of commonly consumed foods like tea, apples, dark chocolate, or cocoa powder into a daily balanced diet could provide beneficial amounts of flavan-3-ols."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tea-and-chocolate-won-t-replace-meds">Tea and chocolate won’t replace meds</h2>



Before you start piling up chocolate bars or guzzling gallons of tea, there’s a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/tea-bags-release-millions-of-plastic-particles-during-brewing/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">caveat</a>. Professor Heiss emphasizes that this study doesn’t give the green light to ditch your prescriptions.



“While not a replacement for prescribed medications or medical advice, including more flavan-3-ol-rich foods in a daily routine could be a valuable addition to a healthy lifestyle, especially for those with higher blood pressure. These are findings that, although promising, require ongoing investigation.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-much-is-too-much">How much is too much?</h2>



So, how much flavan-3-ols do you need to see a benefit? The study doesn’t provide a magic number. A cup of tea, a small square of dark chocolate, or a handful of grapes might do the trick. 



But keep it real - too much of anything can backfire. More chocolate doesn’t mean more health benefits. Balance is everything.



Dark chocolate and tea might get all the attention, but other foods are just as rich in flavan-3-ols. Apples, grapes, and even cocoa powder pack a punch. The trick is to incorporate a variety of these foods into your diet - not just the ones that taste like dessert.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-future-research-directions">Future research directions </h2>



This study might open the door, but it doesn’t close the case. The researchers are far from finished - they’re just getting started. They want to keep peeling back the layers, uncovering how flavan-3-ols really work over time.



Will these compounds have the same impact on people with various health conditions? How much is enough to make a difference without overdoing it? And could something as ordinary as a cup of tea or a piece of dark chocolate eventually earn a spot in public health recommendations?



The questions hang in the air, unanswered but compelling. The study may have given us a glimpse, but the full picture is still coming into focus. 



Until then, every sip, every bite, every moment of mindful indulgence could be another clue in the unfolding story of how simple foods might carry profound possibilities.



Tea and dark chocolate - not miracle cures, yet far more than mere indulgences. This study reveals how ordinary foods might carry extraordinary benefits for our hearts.



The study is published in the <a href="https://academic.oup.com/eurjpc/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/eurjpc/zwaf173/8092214?redirectedFrom=fulltext" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">European Journal of Preventive Cardiology</a>.



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Tea, chocolate, and other common treats can lower blood pressure as well as some medications

Picture this: You’re sipping a warm cup of tea or...

A rare space weather alignment has allowed NASA’s Perseverance rover to photograph a glowing veil of green light rippling above Jezero Crater on Mars.



The display - captured on March 22, 2024, just days after a powerful solar eruption struck Mars - marks the first time an <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/kinetx-rocket-experiment-how-are-auroras-made-closer-look-at-northern-lights/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">aurora</a> has been documented from the surface of another world.



For scientists, the images confirm long-held predictions about Martian auroras and hint at a spectacle that could one day rival Earth’s northern lights.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-flash-of-opportunity">A flash of opportunity</h2>



The story began a week earlier, on March 15, when the Sun unleashed an X-class flare and an accompanying coronal mass ejection (CME). 



Racing outward at millions of kilometers per hour, the plasma cloud carried a swarm of solar energetic particles (SEPs).



On Earth, similar storms often kindle polar auroras by funneling charged particles into our global magnetic field. Mars lacks such a blanket field, so its entire nightside atmosphere can glow during major events.



The science team behind <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mars-perseverance-rover-finds-a-treasure-trove-of-rocks-at-jezero-craters-rim/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Perseverance</a> wanted to know whether that glow from the Mars aurora could be seen in the visible spectrum. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-maven-joins-the-search">MAVEN joins the search</h2>



Ultraviolet cameras on <a href="https://science.nasa.gov/mission/maven/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NASA’s MAVEN orbiter</a> had already shown that SEPs create large, diffuse auroras high above the planet.



Some models predicted the most intense SEP storms might also stimulate oxygen atoms to emit green light at 557.7 nanometers - the same wavelength that colors many of Earth’s auroras. 



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/mars_MAVEN-spacecraft_mars-orbit_NASA_1m.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/mars_MAVEN-spacecraft_mars-orbit_NASA_1s.webp" alt="On September 21, 2014, NASA’s MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN) spacecraft entered orbit around Mars. The mission has produced a wealth of data about how Mars’ atmosphere responds to the Sun and solar wind" class="wp-image-1969900"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">On September 21, 2014, NASA’s MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN) spacecraft entered orbit around Mars. The mission has produced a wealth of data about how Mars’ atmosphere responds to the Sun and solar wind. Click image to enlarge. Credit: NASA</figcaption></figure>



To catch that signal, engineers trained two rover instruments: the Mastcam-Z imager and the SuperCam spectrometer.



“This exciting discovery opens up new possibilities for auroral research and confirms that auroras could be visible to future astronauts on Mars’s surface,” said Elise Knutsen, a postdoctoral researcher at the <a href="https://www.uio.no/english/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Oslo</a> and lead author of the study.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-picking-the-perfect-storm">Picking the perfect storm</h2>



Selecting the right storm required expert forecasting. Space weather specialists at <a href="https://science.gsfc.nasa.gov/674/m2m/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NASA’s Moon to Mars Space Weather Analysis Office</a> monitor solar flares and feed them into computer models at the Community Coordinated Modeling Center (<a href="https://ccmc.gsfc.nasa.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CCMC</a>).



When those models predict an interplanetary shock will sweep past Mars, an alert goes out to missions in orbit and on the surface.



“The trick was to pick a good CME - one that would accelerate and inject many charged particles into Mars’s atmosphere,” Knutsen said.



An alert for the March 15 event landed on the desk of Christina Lee at the <a href="https://www.berkeley.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of California, Berkeley</a>. Acting as MAVEN’s space-weather lead, she broadcast a Mars Space Weather Alert Notification to all active spacecraft.



“This allows the science teams of Perseverance and MAVEN to anticipate impacts of interplanetary CMEs and the associated SEPs,” noted Lee.



When brightness estimates came in from the models, Knutsen and her colleagues realized they had a rare chance. 



“When we saw the strength of this one,” Knutsen said, “we estimated it could trigger aurora bright enough for our instruments to detect.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-capturing-an-aurora-on-mars">Capturing an aurora on Mars</h2>



Two days after the CME slammed into Mars, Perseverance trained its cameras on the darkened sky. 



SuperCam’s spectrometer registered a crisp spike at 557.7 nm - exactly the wavelength of Earth’s green auroras - while Mastcam-Z captured faint emerald curtains sweeping overhead.



Data from MAVEN’s SEP detector and ESA’s <a href="https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Mars_Express" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Mars Express</a> confirmed a torrent of high-energy particles at the same time, nailing the source of the light.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/mars_auroras-observed_Perseverance-rover_NASA_1m.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/mars_auroras-observed_Perseverance-rover_NASA_1s.webp" alt="The first visible-light image of green aurora on Mars (left), taken by the Mastcam-Z instrument on NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover. On the right is a comparison image of the night sky of Mars without aurora but featuring the Martian moon Deimos. The moonlit Martian night sky, lit up mostly by Mars’ nearer and larger moon Phobos (outside the frame) has a reddish-brown hue due to the dust in the atmosphere, so when green auroral light is added, the sky takes on a green-yellow tone, as seen in the left image. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS/SSI" class="wp-image-1969898"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">The first visible-light image of green aurora on Mars (left), taken by the Mastcam-Z instrument on NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover. On the right is a comparison image of the night sky of Mars without aurora but featuring the Martian moon Deimos. The moonlit Martian night sky, lit up mostly by Mars’ nearer and larger moon Phobos (outside the frame) has a reddish-brown hue due to the dust in the atmosphere, so when green auroral light is added, the sky takes on a green-yellow tone, as seen in the left image. Click image to enlarge. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS/SSI</figcaption></figure>



“This was a fantastic example of cross-mission coordination. We all worked together quickly to facilitate this observation and are thrilled to have finally gotten a sneak peek of what astronauts will be able to see there someday,” said Shannon Curry, principal investigator for MAVEN at the <a href="https://www.colorado.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Colorado Boulder</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-mars-glows-differently">Why Mars glows differently</h2>



Earth’s shimmering ovals cluster around the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/magnetic-north-pole-is-moving-faster-than-ever-as-it-races-toward-russia/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">magnetic poles</a> because our field lines guide particles into narrow funnels. Mars, stripped of its global dynamo billions of years ago, hosts only patchy crustal fields.



During a large SEP storm, the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/strong-solar-storm-warning-issued-as-two-cmes-will-hit-earth-tomorrow/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">charged particles</a> slam directly into the upper atmosphere across broad regions, driving planet-wide emissions. 



The new images show that even without a magnetic field, oxygen atoms in the thin Martian air can produce visible green light when pummeled by <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/space-debris-issue-growing-exponentially-worse-now-threatens-working-satellites/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">solar debris</a>.



“Perseverance’s observations of the visible-light aurora confirm a new way to study these phenomena that’s complementary to what we can observe with our Mars orbiters,” said Katie Stack Morgan, acting project scientist for the rover.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-big-advance-for-space-weather">Big advance for space weather</h2>



Long-term monitoring of Mars auroras will do more than satisfy scientific curiosity. SEPs pose a radiation hazard to electronics and to human tissue. 



Being able to predict when a storm will drench the planet - and reading atmospheric glow as a proxy for <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/electron-activity-in-auroras-will-help-us-understand-space-weather/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">particle intensity</a> - could one day help settlers take shelter.



“A better understanding of auroras and the conditions around Mars that lead to their formation are especially important as we prepare to send human explorers there safely,” Morgan said.



As the Sun continues to climb toward its maximum in 2025, researchers expect more CMEs and, with them, more chances for night-sky fireworks. 



Perseverance and MAVEN will remain watchful, ready to turn an interplanetary hazard into a window on space weather - and, perhaps, into an unforgettable sight for the first humans who step onto the Red Planet’s dusty plains.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.ads1563" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Science Advances</a>.



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First visible-light auroras seen on Mars, captured by the Perseverance rover

A rare space weather alignment has allowed NASA’s Perseverance rover...

Ancient fossils are challenging what we thought we knew about the evolution of tree frogs in the Southern Hemisphere. The tiny creature, unearthed from southeastern Queensland, is changing the estimated timeline by tens of millions of years.



Scientists at <a href="https://www.unsw.edu.au/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">UNSW Sydney</a> have identified Litoria tylerantiqua as Australia’s earliest known tree frog, pushing the family’s history back to around 55 million years ago.



This is far earlier than the previously accepted date of 33 million years for when Australian and South American tree frogs were believed to have split on the evolutionary tree.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-rewriting-tree-frog-history">Rewriting tree frog history</h2>



Back when Litoria tylerantiqua was alive, Australia, Antarctica, and South America were still connected by the remnants of the ancient supercontinent <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthpedia-articles/supercontinents-101-pannotia-gondwana-and-pangea/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Gondwana</a>. The world was warmer. Forests stretched between continents, giving animals room to spread across vast, green corridors.



Until now, the earliest known Australian tree frogs came from the Late Oligocene (about 26 million years ago) and the Early Miocene (around 23 million years ago). 



Fossils found at Kangaroo Well in the Northern Territory, Lake Palankarinna in South Australia, and the Riversleigh World Heritage Area in Queensland supported this timeline.



But the Murgon fossils - discovered on the traditional lands of the Waka Waka people - tell a different story. They show that these frogs were hopping around Australia 30 million years earlier than previously thought.



“Our research indicates that that date is at least 22 million years too young,” said Dr. Roy Farman. 



“While molecular studies are important for understanding the evolutionary relationships of different groups of animals, these studies should be calibrated using knowledge from the fossil record and in this case the fossil record provides a more accurate time for separation of the southern world’s tree frogs.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-naming-the-tree-frog-with-honor">Naming the tree frog with honor</h2>



The new species was named Litoria tylerantiqua to honor the late Michael Tyler, one of the first experts to study <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/color-evolution-ginger-pigment-found-in-10-million-year-old-frogs/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">frog fossils</a> in the country.



“It is only fitting to name Australia’s earliest tree frog in honor of a man who was a giant in Australian frog research and in particular the first to explore the fossil record for Australian frogs,” said Dr. Farman.



To figure out where this ancient frog fits in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fossil-discovery-pushes-back-reptile-evolution-by-40-million-years/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">evolution</a>, the researchers had to overcome a major hurdle. The frog’s pelvic bones, key to identifying species, were not visible in preserved specimens.



“We had a real problem at the start of this study because the pelvic bones of most living frogs were invisible inside whole pickled frogs rather than available for study as skeletons,” noted Dr. Farman.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-models-of-museum-specimens">Models of museum specimens</h2>



Most museums want to keep specimens intact for DNA studies, which meant the team couldn’t just remove and study the bones. Instead, they turned to technology. 



Using CT scans, the experts created 3D models of museum specimens, revealing hidden skeletons without harming the frogs.



“Using these cutting-edge investigative methods, we were able to determine from the shape of the fossil ilia - one of three bones that make up each side of the pelvis - that this new Murgon species of frog is more closely related to the Australian tree frogs (pelodryadids) than the South American tree frogs (phyllomedusids),” said Dr. Farman.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-lessons-from-the-past">Lessons from the past</h2>



Litoria tylerantiqua now joins Platyplectrum casca (formerly Lechriodus casca), another Murgon fossil, as one of the oldest frogs ever found in Australia. Both have modern relatives still living today in Australia and New Guinea.



“Despite their delicate nature, frogs have been surprisingly successful at surviving several <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-predict-a-new-mass-extinction-that-will-wipe-out-humans-and-all-mammals/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">mass extinction</a> events since their origins about 250 million years ago, including the mass extinction 66 million years ago that took out the non-flying dinosaurs,” said Dr. Farman.



Today, many frogs face serious threats. Climate change, habitat loss, and diseases like chytrid fungus are wiping out populations. But understanding how frogs adapted and survived in the past might help scientists protect them now.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-understanding-how-trees-frogs-survived">Understanding how trees frogs survived</h2>



“Although global extinction events triggered by human activities - such as rapid climate change and the spread of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/frog-saunas-hot-solution-to-fighting-global-amphibian-extinction-apocalypse/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">chytrid fungus</a> - may be among the worst challenges frogs have had to face, the fossil record could reveal how some frog groups overcame previous challenges, perhaps by adapting to new, less-threatening habitats," said Dr. Farman. 



"This could provide clues about how we might be able to help by translocating some threatened frogs into more future-secure habitats."



One example is the southern <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/australians-are-unaware-of-their-most-endangered-species/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">corroboree frog</a>, now struggling in its current environment. If fossil records show similar frogs once thrived in different settings, scientists may be able to relocate modern frogs to safer places.



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02724634.2025.2477815" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology</a>.



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Fossil discovery pushes tree frog origins back 55 million years

Ancient fossils are challenging what we thought we knew about...

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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Worms dominated seas before dinosaurs

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



The full study was published in the journal Current Biology.



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Earth's oldest forest found in the United States

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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The environmental problem we actually solved

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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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What to plant in your garden in mid-July

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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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Wildlife tunnels save millions of amphibians

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

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



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



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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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