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...

You might sweat through a July afternoon, yet still feel drowsy right on schedule when evening falls. A new study shows that our internal clock stays on its 24-hour beat in the heat by subtly reshaping the daily rise and fall of gene activity.



The research was led by theoretical biophysicist <a href="https://ithems.riken.jp/en/members/gen-kurosawa">Gen Kurosawa</a> at the RIKEN Center for Interdisciplinary Theoretical and Mathematical Sciences (<a href="https://ithems.riken.jp/en">iTHEMS</a>) in Japan.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-temperature-speeds-reactions">Why temperature speeds reactions</h2>



Most chemical reactions run faster as the thermometer climbs. This is because heat lets molecules collide more often.



Left unchecked, the basic physics would cause every cellular process to speed up. Yet organisms show temperature compensation, keeping their <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-the-color-of-light-impacts-our-internal-clocks-and-circadian-rhythms/">circadian rhythm</a> nearly the same.



Biologists use something called a Q10 value to measure how temperature affects reactions. Even a small 10°F increase can double the speed of many biological processes, showing just how unlikely it is for a body clock to stay completely stable.



This mystery has intrigued scientists who study biological clocks for decades and drives ongoing research into what keeps them so precise.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-keeping-the-body-clock-steady">Keeping the body clock steady</h2>



The classic explanation comes from scientist Colin Pittendrigh. In 1954, he noticed that fruit flies kept emerging right on schedule, even when he changed the temperature in their chambers.



Pittendrigh's observation convinced researchers that the body clock carries built-in brakes to counteract the thermal push.



Subsequent models invoked competing chemical loops that lengthen or shorten the cycle so their temperature responses cancel out. 



These ideas work in theory yet do not fully capture the fine details of real gene-expression curves recorded in animals and plants.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-body-clock-changes-shape">The body clock changes shape</h2>



Kurosawa’s team found that the key isn’t adjusting the speed of the cycle. Instead, they discovered that changing the shape of the rhythm - something they call waveform distortion - makes the difference.



At higher temperatures, messenger RNA (<a href="https://www.genome.gov/genetics-glossary/Messenger-RNA-mRNA">mRNA</a>) levels climb sharply, linger, then glide down more slowly. This stretches one side of the wave and squeezes the other.



The total area under the curve - an indirect measure of how much protein is made - stays the same, which helps keep the overall cycle length steady.



Viewed on a graph, the once-smooth sine wave becomes a lopsided sawtooth. That geometry alone delivers the needed timekeeping fix.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-math-trick-explains-time-in-heat">A math trick explains time in heat</h2>



To explain how this imbalance keeps the cycle steady, the researchers used a math technique called the renormalization group method. This technique is usually applied to complex, chaotic systems like <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientific-surprise-as-turbulence-mixing-dynamics-captured-using-quantum-computing/">turbulence</a>.



The method teases out the slow backbone of a complicated set of equations, showing that only the downturn of the wave needs to relax to counteract universal speed-ups.



Because the analysis is analytical rather than purely simulated, it offers clear testable predictions about which part of the waveform should stretch when the thermostat rises. 



The predictions line up with time-lapse luciferase recordings of clock genes in cultured cells, lending extra weight to the math.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-animal-clocks-match-the-model">Animal clocks match the model</h2>



Fruit flies, mice, and even bread mold fungi show the predicted skew when they grow in warmer rooms, matching the model line for line. 



Heat-pulse <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9528772/">experiments</a> also shift PER and TIM proteins in the direction the theory foresees, confirming that proteins follow the mRNA wave.



In flies carrying the <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7481773/">perL mutation</a>, the distortion is exaggerated and the period actually lengthens, highlighting how a single genetic tweak can upset the balance. That mutant teaches researchers where the tipping points hide in the molecular wiring.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-wave-shape-affects-sleep-and-shiftwork">Wave shape affects sleep and shiftwork</h2>



A sturdier but less responsive clock sounds good until you cross several time zones or work overnight. 



Modeling work suggests that as the waveform grows more distorted, the range of light signals that can reset the clock narrows, making jet lag and shift-work fatigue harder to shake.&nbsp;



“The degree of waveform distortion in clock <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/tens-of-thousands-of-hidden-dark-genes-discovered-in-humans/">genes</a> could be a biomarker that helps us better understand sleep disorders,” Kurosawa said. 



Ignoring shape may explain why some experimental drugs that tweak reaction rates never made it to the clinic.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-heat-and-light-warp-rhythms">Heat and light warp rhythms</h2>



Changes in the shape of the body clock’s rhythm also affect how it responds to winter darkness and bright summer light - suggesting a possible molecular link between temperature changes and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sunlight-plays-a-critical-role-in-human-sleep/">seasonal mood shifts</a>.



Insects enduring broad temperature ranges show sluggish adjustments because a heavily distorted wave resists dawn cues - a possibility raised by field <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26120562/">studies</a> on temperature-trained flies.&nbsp;



A distorted wave in January may tell migratory birds when to head south or signal bees to forage later in the day. That knowledge could guide design of smart lighting systems that change spectrum and intensity as temperatures shift.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-from-shape-to-treatment-options">From shape to treatment options</h2>



Researchers now need to pin down the enzymes that slow the evening slide of clock mRNA and hunt for drugs that can nudge that process. 



The experts also want to learn whether age, diet, or genetic variation affects how easily the waveform bends. That could open paths to more tailored <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/circadian-medicine-light-therapy-could-help-millions-of-heart-patients/">chronotherapy</a>.



Answering these questions will also clarify whether waveform signatures can serve as early warning markers for metabolic disease.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol/article?id=10.1371/journal.pcbi.1013246">PLOS Computational Biology</a>.



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Human body clocks distort time to stay on schedule in the heat

You might sweat through a July afternoon, yet still feel...

Mesopelagic fish, living hundreds of meters below the surface, play a quiet but powerful role in carbon cycling. 



A new study confirms that deep-sea fish excrete carbonate minerals, just like their shallow-water relatives. Their massive biomass and physiological traits make them a critical but overlooked part of ocean chemistry.



Researchers from the University of Miami <a href="https://www.earth.miami.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Rosenstiel School</a> studied the blackbelly rosefish, a deep-sea species that tolerates lab conditions. They confirmed it produces ichthyocarbonate - a mineral excreted by the intestines to maintain salt and water balance.



“Mesopelagic fish live in deep, cold, high-pressure environments, and until now, it was unclear if they produced carbonate like shallow water <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fish-are-quietly-battling-climate-change-on-the-seabed/">fish</a> do - or at what rate,” said Martin Grosell, lead author of the study. 



“This study is the first to confirm that they do and that the mechanisms and characteristics of ichthyocarbonate formation are remarkably consistent across depths.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-deep-sea-fish-produce-carbonate">Deep-sea fish produce carbonate </h2>



At 6°C, mirroring its native depth, the blackbelly rosefish excreted carbonate at about 5 mg/kg/hour. This aligns with predictions from previous models that connect metabolism, temperature, and depth.



The study also tested how carbonate formation resists change. Even when held in laboratory settings far from their original pressure conditions, the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fishing-removes-key-nutrients-from-marine-ecosystems/">fish</a> continued producing carbonate. This suggests the process is robust and not sensitive to depth-induced pressure changes.



Carbonate excretion comes from the gastrointestinal tract. It’s driven by ion transporters that move bicarbonate into the gut. There, it reacts with calcium and magnesium to form solid minerals. These are expelled into seawater and can later dissolve or sink.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-deep-fish-and-carbon-cycling">Deep fish and carbon cycling</h2>



The researchers examined the carbonate <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/world-oceans-day-2025-sustaining-what-sustains-us/">composition</a> of the blackbelly rosefish. They found that it matched the mineral makeup found in shallow-water species. Magnesium-rich calcite dominated, with minor aragonite and other forms. These materials dissolve at different rates, affecting their fate in the water column.



The uniformity suggests that regardless of where fish live, their carbonate waste behaves similarly once expelled. This means deep-sea fish can contribute to upper-ocean carbonate chemistry even if they dwell much deeper.



“This research fills a major gap in our understanding of ocean chemistry and carbon cycling,” said Amanda Oehlert, co-author and assistant professor. 



“With mesopelagic fish playing such a significant role, their contribution to carbonate flux - and how it might change with warming oceans - deserves greater attention.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-chemical-engineers-of-the-ocean">Chemical engineers of the ocean</h2>



By verifying carbonate production in mesopelagic fish, this work supports broader carbon flux models. Until now, those models included deep fish as contributors, but lacked direct measurements. This new data gives them firmer footing.



“These results offer strong support for global models of fish-derived carbonate production, which had assumed - but not verified - that mesopelagic species contribute at similar rates,” Grosell said. “Mesopelagic fish aren’t just prey; they’re chemical engineers of the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/unseen-impacts-of-fishing-trawling-fuels-climate-change/">ocean</a>.”



The study also suggests that mesopelagic fish could influence carbon export. Their carbonates may either dissolve near the surface or fall deeper, adding to seafloor sediments.



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



Carbonates affect seawater alkalinity and pH buffering. Fish-sourced minerals, especially from deep waters, could impact how oceans respond to acidification and warming. 



These particles interact with dissolved carbon and influence chemical stability at depth. The study’s results could help refine Earth system models used to forecast these changes.



The researchers stress that ichthyocarbonate is not trivial waste. It is a steady mineral output with wide-scale consequences. It travels, dissolves, or settles, shaping carbon flow through ocean layers. With up to 94% of global fish biomass living in mesopelagic zones, their contributions matter.



Understanding when and where this mineral is released is key. It could improve predictions of long-term carbon storage.



"Ichthyocarbonate release by individual fish is episodic and under sophisticated endocrine control, but we know very little about the timing and frequency of release, offering an important area for future research," concluded the study authors. 



The study was funded by the <a href="https://www.nsf.gov" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">National Science Foundation</a> and the University of Miami. The findings are published in the&nbsp;<a href="https://journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/228/14/jeb249834/368610/Osmoregulation-by-the-gastro-intestinal-tract-of" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Journal of Experimental Biology</a>.



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Fish in the deep sea help power the ocean's carbon cycle

Mesopelagic fish, living hundreds of meters below the surface, play...

The Gobi Desert just gained another actor in its cast of Late Cretaceous characters. Paleontologists have unveiled Shri rapax, a stocky, two legged predator with a body that stretched only about 6.5 feet (2 meters) but had some serious weaponry. 



Unearthed after a winding journey through private collections, and eventually repatriated to Mongolia, the fossil shows a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dinosaur-extinction-theories-are-challenged-by-new-research/">creature</a> that roamed dune laced lakeshores between 75 and 71 million years ago. 



Its most arresting feature is a thumb claw measuring 3.1 in (nearly 8 cm) long, which is almost double that of a similarly sized Velociraptor.



Andrea Cau, an independent Italian paleontologist who led the <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08912963.2025.2530148" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">description</a>, worked alongside scientists from the Royal Belgian Institute of <a href="https://www.naturalsciences.be/en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Natural Sciences</a> and North Carolina State University (<a href="https://www.ncsu.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NCSU</a>).



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-shri-rapax-hunted-with-hands-not-feet">Shri rapax hunted with hands, not feet</h2>



The hands of this new <a href="https://ucmp.berkeley.edu/diapsids/saurischia/dromaeosauridae.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">dromaeosaurid</a> are 150 percent more robust than those of Velociraptor, even though the two raptors share a comparable body length.



Digital scans reveal thick finger bones capped by an oversized claw with an outer curve that is 162 percent the length of the supporting phalanx - this is a proportion unmatched among known raptors.



“The rapacious features we see in the hand signal a predator that relied on pure grip strength rather than slashing kicks,” said Cau.



By contrast, the famous sickle-shaped toe claw of Velociraptor is better suited to quick, repeated strikes. Shri rapax appears to have shifted that killing focus to its thumbs, thus freeing its feet for balance.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-big-claws-helped-grab-bigger-prey">Big claws helped grab bigger prey</h2>



Team member Tsogtbaatar Chinzorig noted that the middle claw’s 3.1 inch (8 cm) span “likely enabled it to grasp and restrain relatively large prey.”



Modern birds of prey offer a parallel: talons grow disproportionately bigger in species that tackle animals heavier than themselves, a link confirmed by biomechanical <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0007999" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">work</a> on eagle and hawk feet.



Applying that principle to Shri rapax suggests that these dinosaurs targeted bigger and bulkier prey than the lizards or small mammals favoured by many Gobi <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fossil-suggests-early-dinosaurs-were-larger-than-we-thought/">carnivores</a> of similar size.



Its stout skull, digitally reconstructed from CT data, hints at a bite built to finish the job once those powerful hands locked on.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-it-fought-prey-face-to-face">It fought prey face to face</h2>



The bones come from the Djadokhta Formation, a wind blown world that also preserved a Velociraptor locking jaws with a ceratopsian named Protoceratops. 



Those desert showdowns often ended badly for predator and prey alike, as the famous “fighting dinosaurs” pair demonstrates.



Shri rapax brings a fresh twist to that narrative. Instead of pouncing with toe talons, it may have wrestled stocky herbivores face to face, anchoring itself with those muscular thumbs while delivering short, crushing bites.



That strategy could explain why its pubic bones tilt slightly less backward than in Velociraptor - a more upright stance may have helped brace against struggling <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dog-sized-baby-dinosaur-unearthed-after-166-million-years/">prey</a>.



Arm bones also show enlarged muscle scars, especially for the biceps, hinting at strokes powerful enough to reel opponents inward.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-shri-rapax-lived-with-many-desert-raptors">Shri rapax lived with many desert raptors</h2>



The discovery of Shri rapax adds to the already dense concentration of mid-sized theropods in the Gobi fossil record. 



At least three, closely related raptor species now appear to have shared overlapping environments within the Djadokhta Formation, each with different adaptations to prey size, skull strength, and forelimb anatomy. 



That level of ecological diversity in a single predator guild is rare in modern ecosystems, making the Late Cretaceous Gobi a unique case for studying niche partitioning.



Its presence also challenges previous assumptions about faunal turnover between Mongolian formations. 



While many Djadokhtan and Baruungoyotan species appear in different sedimentary contexts, the morphological similarities and close phylogenetic ties between Shri rapax and Shri devi suggest that geographic or environmental barriers, not just time, may have shaped their evolution.&nbsp;



More precise dating and fossil finds could help clarify whether these raptors coexisted or followed each other in rapid succession.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-it-evolved-differently-from-its-cousin">It evolved differently from its cousin</h2>



Morphological analyses place Shri rapax as the sister species of Shri devi, named in 2021 from rock layers a few million years younger. 



The two share short snouts but diverge sharply in limb anatomy, suggesting niche partitioning within a single raptor lineage.



Broader <a href="https://bmcecolevol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12862-024-02222-5" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">studies</a> of raptor skull shapes show that bite mechanics, not just claws, steer dietary specialization across the group. Shri rapax fits that trend, pairing a reinforced jaw with hardware built for grappling.



Its discovery also undercuts the idea that all mid-sized Gobi predators hunted in the same way. Even among close cousins, evolution seems to have encouraged experimental toolkits to avoid competition.



Future field seasons will test whether additional Shri remains turn up alongside fossils of armored ankylosaurs or juvenile ceratopsians, the prey most logically matched to a hand first hunting style.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-it-means-for-raptor-science">What it means for raptor science</h2>



Shri rapax reminds researchers that predatory dinosaurs were not defined solely by iconic toe claws. Hands, skulls, and tails combined in unique ways to solve <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/new-predatory-dinosaur-species-identified-in-lost-photos/">ecological</a> puzzles.



The find highlights how repatriated specimens can rewrite textbooks, years after they were first dug up. Because the fossil’s journey is now documented, it can legally anchor a new species and invite further study.



Its anatomy will likely enter computer models that explore strength limits of dinosaur limbs, helping scientists estimate muscle mass and pulling force. 



Those numbers could verify whether the thumb claw truly outperformed the famous foot claw in terms of absolute grip.



Finally, the discovery emphasizes the value of Mongolia’s desert sites, where fine sand and rapid burial continue to freeze dramatic moments of Mesozoic life in place for modern science.



The study is published in <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08912963.2025.2530148?scroll=top&amp;needAccess=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Historical Biology</a>.



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Dinosaur discovered that killed with its thumbs instead of claws

The Gobi Desert just gained another actor in its cast...

The hardest math in science has long been a bottleneck, delaying discoveries across physics, chemistry, and climate. But that’s starting to change, as AI slashes equation-solving times from years to minutes. 



Researchers who once waited a decade for enough computing power or clever tricks to tame complex formulas are now solving them in an afternoon.



That leap is cataloged in a new 500-page <a href="https://www.nowpublishers.com/article/Details/MAL-115" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">review</a> that maps out how learning algorithms are reshaping everything from drug design to climate modeling.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-science-s-equation-problem">Science’s equation problem</h2>



Nature is divided into <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/new-ai-framework-dimon-turning-any-laptop-into-a-supercomputer/">quantum</a>, atomic, and continuum regimes, each governed by complex differential equations. 



“The goal of natural sciences is to understand the world on different temporal and physical scales, leading to three main systems: quantum, atomic, and continuum,” said study co-author Dr. Shuiwang Ji of <a href="https://www.tamu.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Texas A&amp;M University</a>.



Take Schrödinger’s equation, the backbone of quantum mechanics. It can be solved cleanly for two electrons but becomes hopeless when millions of particles interact.



As the particle count rises, the number of variables grows exponentially, a curse of dimensionality that locks up even supercomputers.



Traditional numerical tricks approximate the answers, yet they still demand weeks of high-performance computing time and deliver limited accuracy. That bottleneck slows fields that depend on quantum chemistry, such as battery design and catalyst screening.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-teaching-ai-the-hard-math">Teaching AI the hard math</h2>



Machine learning models trained on known solutions learn to spot hidden patterns that humans miss. Once trained, they guess the wave functions or fluid pressures for new systems in seconds, often matching conventional solvers to within a percent.



Unlike black-box predictors, the latest architectures bake in physical symmetries, so rotations or reflections leave the output unchanged. That makes the networks both faster and more trustworthy because they respect conservation laws by design.



Ji and more than sixty collaborators detail strategies such as equivariant graph neural networks that treat atoms as nodes and bonds as edges. 



Their review also surveys large language models that write simulation code on demand, a trick already used inside Texas A&amp;M’s <a href="https://www.raise-tamu.net/about" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">R</a><a href="https://www.raise-tamu.net/about">AISE</a> Initiative labs.



An early win came when graph neural nets replicated a month-long density functional theory run in under ten minutes on a laptop. That drop in cost means students can explore chemical space during an afternoon lab section instead of reserving cluster time.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ai-science-breakthroughs-in-action">AI science breakthroughs in action</h2>



The 2021 release of AlphaFold predicted shapes for roughly two hundred million proteins in about a year. Biologists who once waited months for an X-ray structure can now plan experiments the same morning.



Materials scientists are using graph networks to screen millions of candidate battery electrolytes, pruning the list to a handful that survive expensive bench tests. 



Early prototypes have already pushed lithium-ion lifetimes past three thousand charge cycles in lab cells.



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ancient-climate-shift-sheds-light-on-future-global-warming/">Climate</a> modelers plug neural solvers into global circulation codes, trimming the daily energy bill of a typical run by forty percent while keeping storm tracks intact. That saving frees funds to explore more emission scenarios instead of paying electricity costs.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-limits-of-ai-in-science">The limits of AI in science</h2>



“We are using AI to accelerate our understanding of science and design better engineering systems,” said Ji. That ambition demands rigorous benchmarks, uncertainty estimates, and open data so other teams can replicate results.



Data scarcity dogs many frontier problems, from fusion plasma <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientific-surprise-as-turbulence-mixing-dynamics-captured-using-quantum-computing/">turbulence</a> to rare earth magnet phases. Researchers address this by augmenting sparse measurements with simulations, yet that may smuggle in the very biases they hope to escape.



Ethical concerns loom as well, because AI that speeds drug discovery could just as easily accelerate toxin design. 



Leading groups advocate real-time screening of generated molecules against pathogen threat databases before any synthesis request reaches a vendor.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-solving-science-together">Solving science together</h2>



Ji’s team argues that no single lab can cover the sprawling space of quantum, atomistic, and continuum problems. Their paper itself is a proof, spanning fifteen universities and more than five hundred pages.



The RAISE Initiative recruits over eighty-five faculty, pairing computer scientists with chemists, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/earths-oldest-known-rocks-formed-over-four-billion-years-ago/">geologists</a>, and civil engineers inside shared Slack channels. Weekly data-sharing sessions cut redundant efforts and seed joint grant proposals that draw on strengths across campus.



Industry is leaning in, too, as pharmaceutical giants supply curated reaction data while earning early access to improved models. 



Start-ups license those models through cloud APIs, letting a small lab anywhere run high-end <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/finding-quantum-coherence-chemical-reaction-chaos/">quantum chemistry</a> without buying a single server.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-science-discovery-at-machine-speed">Science discovery at machine speed</h2>



If the past four years are any guide, everyday researchers will soon treat AI solvers like they treat spreadsheets, a default tool that lives on every desktop. 



Once that happens, the defining question shifts from whether to trust AI to how to spend the freed-up creative energy.



Young scientists might redirect their mornings from debugging Fortran toward framing deeper hypotheses, while seasoned engineers iteratively refine prototypes instead of waiting for a cluster queue slot. 



History suggests that when a method cuts cost by an order of magnitude, it sparks waves of experiments that nobody previously dared to attempt.



Policymakers could feel the impact too, because faster simulations let agencies stress-test infrastructure plans against many more climate or seismic scenarios. More scenarios translate into codes that protect communities rather than average-case assumptions.



Ji sees that horizon already, noting his own curiosity for fundamental science as the spark that keeps the collaboration moving. He and his colleagues hope that by teaching AI the language of physics, science can advance through better questions - not just faster answers.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nowpublishers.com/article/Details/MAL-115" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Foundations and Trends in Machine Learning</a>.



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AI is taking scientific discovery from decades to minutes

The hardest math in science has long been a bottleneck,...

Hospitals are meant to heal. Yet new research suggests the food many patients receive may be holding back their recovery.



An analysis of two German hospitals and three nursing homes found menus loaded with refined grains, added sugars, salt, and saturated fat. The food options were also lacking in vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and legumes.



The research was led by Lisa Pörtner of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (<a href="https://www.pik-potsdam.de/en/home" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">PIK</a>), in collaboration with colleagues at Charité in Berlin and Stanford University.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-hospital-food-impacts-patient-recovery">Hospital food impacts patient recovery </h2>



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/planet-friendly-foods-can-reduce-your-risk-of-mortality-by-25-percent/">Poor diets</a> now rank among the top drivers of chronic illness and premature death worldwide. Hospitalized people, already vulnerable, often depend entirely on institutional meals for days or even weeks at a time.



Many in-patients are older adults with higher protein and micronutrient needs, yet illness, medication, and an unfamiliar setting can blunt both appetite and taste.



When the tray arrives bland, beige, and salty, much of it ends up in the trash instead of in the patient, compounding the risk of complications.



Nutrition also affects length of stay and complication rates. Malnourished patients often face infections, slower wound healing, and longer rehabilitation - costs that ripple through families, health systems, and insurers.



Hospitals and nursing homes influence community norms well beyond their walls. If patients experience colorful, plant-rich plates during their stay, they are more likely to try the same foods at home. They may also talk about them with relatives after discharge, seeding healthier habits.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-plant-foods-are-missing-entirely">Plant foods are missing entirely</h2>



The team tallied every breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snack served over a representative week. Then, they compared the nutrient content with targets in the Planetary Health Diet, which calls for roughly 80 percent of calories from wholesome plant foods.



None of the institutions even reached 20 percent, and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/refined-grains-increase-the-risk-of-heart-disease/">refined grains</a> alone supplied more calories than all produce combined, flipping recommended proportions on their head.



"We found that meals contained too few healthy plant-based foods such as vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and legumes," said Pörtner. 



“This is particularly troubling as health care institutions should be role models for healthy diets,” said Nathalie Lambrecht of <a href="https://www.stanford.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Stanford University</a>, explaining micronutrients such as folate, potassium, and vitamin B6 fell well below recommended intakes.



Additionally, nursing home residents also missed basic protein targets needed to maintain muscle and immune function.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-hospital-food-impacts-climate">Hospital food impacts climate</h2>



Food choices in hospitals not only threatened patient well-being - red meat and dairy generated three-quarters of each facility’s greenhouse gas emissions, land use, and water pollution. This echoes global data showing animal products carry the highest environmental toll.



For perspective, New York City’s municipal hospital network cut food-related emissions by 36 percent in one year simply by making plant-based dishes the default option. 



Patient satisfaction climbed above 90 percent at the same time, debunking fears that greener menus hurt the dining experience.



Climate change harms human health by causing <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/urban-heatwaves-are-accelerating-for-a-surprising-reason/">heat waves</a>, extreme weather, breathing problems, and the spread of new diseases. It creates a feedback loop that starts with what we eat and can end with a trip to the emergency room. 



Those cascading stresses land hardest on children, older adults, and people with chronic diseases.



By serving resource-heavy meat at every meal, health-care facilities unknowingly contribute to problems like respiratory illness, malnutrition, and heat-related complications. This highlights a clear conflict between their goal to heal patients and the impact of their food choices.



Aligning the plate with the pledge to "first, do no harm" takes deliberate effort.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-better-food-means-better-health">Better food means better health</h2>



The solution for hospitals is not austere salads or unfamiliar fad foods. Flavorful legumes, nuts, seeds, and whole grains can provide enough protein to meet dietary needs. They also add fiber and important nutrients that support the immune system, brain function, and bone health.



A lentil shepherd’s pie delivers as much protein per calorie as beef, while slashing emissions and saturated fat. Swapping butter for canola or olive oil improves the ratio of unsaturated to saturated fat - a core metric in the Healthy Eating Index (HEI) that predicts cardiovascular risk.



Using seasonal produce helps lower costs, makes meals look more appealing, and supports local farms. <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/peanuts-have-a-beneficial-impact-on-vascular-health/">Peanut butter</a>, soymilk, and fortified cereals can also fill vitamin and mineral gaps without needing extra work or many ingredients. Chefs find diners respond to color and crunch just as much as to nutrition labels.



Hospital trials in the U.S., U.K., and the Netherlands show that plant-forward menus can match or beat traditional meals in taste and cost. 



These results come even before factoring in long-term savings from shorter hospital stays and fewer readmissions. The savings grow larger when reduced waste and lower procurement emissions are factored in. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-contracts-block-healthier-menus">Contracts block healthier menus</h2>



Kitchen budgets are tight, and staff already juggle allergy requests, texture modifications, and infection control rules. 



Bulk contracts often lock facilities into meat-heavy purchasing for years, making rapid change tricky and sometimes financially risky.



Policymakers could help by writing minimum nutrition and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-urgent-plea-sustainable-climate-solutions-save-earth-humanity/">sustainability</a> standards into reimbursement regulations, much like existing rules on hand hygiene and medication safety. 



Clear targets would empower food-service directors to negotiate new contracts and track progress.



Large group purchasing organizations could negotiate discounts on lentils, chickpeas, and produce - just like they do for dairy or pork. This would help lower costs for individual kitchens and reduce supply-chain problems that concern administrators.



Contract terms that reward lower carbon intensity could accelerate the shift.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-doctors-must-lead-change">Doctors must lead change</h2>



Clinicians also have a role. When doctors prescribe plant-rich diets for diabetes or <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/changing-one-thing-about-this-everyday-task-cuts-heart-disease-risk-in-half/">heart disease</a>, the message sounds hollow if the cafeteria still pushes sausage and pudding at every meal, sending mixed signals to patients and staff alike.



Real change starts with measurement. Menu audits, waste tracking, and lifecycle assessment dashboards give dietitians the data they need to improve recipes and monitor progress.



The German study shows that better hospital food is not a luxury add-on. It is clinical care and climate action served on the same tray, replicated far beyond Germany.



The study is published in<a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanplh/article/PIIS2542-5196(25)00138-X/fulltext" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"> The Lancet Planetary Health</a>.



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Hospital food puts patients at risk - and the planet

Hospitals are meant to heal. Yet new research suggests the...

Scientists have mapped the human genome for a quarter century, yet millions of DNA letters are still unresolved. A new study now reports the most complete reference to date, covering those difficult sections.



The international team sequenced 65 ancestry diverse genomes and closed 92 percent of the gaps left by earlier projects, providing a resource that lets clinicians zoom all the way into <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/babies-born-healthy-with-dna-from-a-third-parent/">regions</a> long considered unreadable.



The project was led by Christine Beck of The Jackson Laboratory and the University of Connecticut Health Center (<a href="https://health.uconn.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">UConnHC</a>).



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-decoding-critical-dna-regions">Decoding critical DNA regions</h2>



Beck noted that the missing pieces often carry variants influencing digestion, immunity, and muscle control. Without them, risk models for many conditions have been blind to entire classes of DNA changes.



Clinicians felt that blindness whenever genetic tests ruled out mutations yet patients still developed disease. 



The new assemblies bring those stretches into view, letting variant calling software finally flag complex rearrangements that older methods skipped.



The most important areas that were finally decoded include a stretch of DNA related to spinal muscular atrophy, a serious genetic disease. 



Another key region is the major histocompatibility complex, a crowded section tied to over 100 different health conditions.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-refining-the-human-genome">Refining the human genome</h2>



The team used a newer type of sequencing that reads much longer pieces of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/new-dna-test-can-tell-your-exact-age-from-just-a-tiny-blood-sample/">DNA</a> than older methods. They combined two types of reads: one that’s very accurate and another that’s extra long, so they could capture big and tricky sections. 



The experts stitched those reads together to build complete sets of DNA from each person, including both their mother’s and father’s versions.



This approach allowed the researchers to finish some chromosomes from end to end in about 4 out of every 10 cases, which is a major improvement over earlier attempts. 



They also shared their method so that other scientists can now do the same without having to start from scratch.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-the-team-found-in-the-dna">What the team found in the DNA</h2>



The researchers uncovered nearly 2,000 complicated <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ancient-dna-reveals-37000-years-of-hidden-human-infections/">DNA</a> changes that were too hard to find before. They also identified over 12,000 pieces of jumping DNA, which are bits that can move around and change how genes work.&nbsp;



On top of that, the team fully mapped more than 1,200 centromeres, which are the central parts of chromosomes that help them divide properly. 



Many of these turned out to have two possible "connection points" instead of one, something that may change how scientists understand genetic stability.



The researchers saw up to 30 fold differences in α satellite repeat length at centromere cores, variation that could affect fertility or cancer risk once paired with clinical records. Those comparisons were impossible before the gaps were filled.



The experts also mapped the notoriously variable amylase gene cluster, which influences how well people digest starch. Such detailed mapping lets anthropologists match genes with regional culinary traditions.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-diverse-genomes-improved-the-map">Diverse genomes improved the map</h2>



Earlier references were built mostly from European <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/airborne-dna-can-track-wildlife-diseases-and-even-drugs/">genomes</a>, a limitation that has skewed risk scores and drug studies for decades. 



Clinicians in Africa, South America, and Asia have repeatedly reported mismatches between test results and patient outcomes.



Nearly 60 percent of the newly found insertions and 14 percent of deletions occur in fewer than one in 100 people, making them perfect markers for rare disease diagnosis. 



Short read pipelines that once flagged tens of thousands of candidate changes can now shrink the list to a few hundred, speeding answers for families.



This inclusive strategy follows the draft <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-05896-x" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">pangenome</a> published in 2023, which wove 47 genomes into a graph based reference. The new work extends that concept by adding depth as well as breadth, delivering a finished quality sequence where the pangenome merely outlined possibilities.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-sequencing-complete-genomes">Sequencing complete genomes</h2>



“It's only been in the last three years that technology finally got to the point where we can sequence complete genomes,” noted Charles Lee of the Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine. He considers 65 complete genomes to be a starting point, not a finish line.



“There’s more and more realization that these sequences are not junk,” added Jan Korbel, interim head of <a href="https://www.embl.org/sites/heidelberg/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">EMBL Heidelberg</a>, referring to the repetitive DNA now decoded. Korbel highlighted that the resource is open for anyone to explore.



Both scientists see the data as a launchpad for large health care projects, from newborn screening to predictive polygenic tools, that work equally well for every community. Those applications are already being piloted by regional health systems.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-s-next-for-the-genome-map">What’s next for the genome map</h2>



The consortium is already feeding its assemblies into graph based tools so routine short read data can benefit from the richer reference. 



Early tests push per genome variant detection past 26,000 structural changes, roughly double earlier counts.



Sequencing costs are falling so quickly that fully phased, telomere-to-telomere genomes may soon be routine in diagnostic labs, ending the era in which physicians worked with partial maps and educated guesses. 



A single clinical genome that once cost millions now slips below $10,000 in some centers.



According to Beck, understanding health requires the full genetic blueprint, and this study finally hands clinicians most of the missing pages. 



The remaining gaps may close as long-read sequencing becomes more common in everyday medicine.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09140-6" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature</a>.



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Missing parts of the human genome have finally been decoded

Scientists have mapped the human genome for a quarter century,...

Lately, if a soundtrack in a streaming clip stirred your emotions more than usual, it might not have come from a composer at all. A new study shows that AI-generated music doesn’t just fill space - it can move us more than the real thing.



The new study showed 88 volunteers the same short films while biometric sensors tracked their eyes and skin. After each viewing, participants rated how they felt, and the equipment logged subtle shifts that even they could not sense.



Nikolaj Fišer of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (<a href="https://www.uab.cat/web/universitat-autonoma-de-barcelona-1345467954774.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">UAB</a>) led the research with colleagues at RTVE in Barcelona and the <a href="https://www.uni-lj.si/en/university" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Ljubljana</a>. His team pooled expertise in communication science, media psychology, and audio engineering.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="block-ef7e153d-11f4-4751-9555-8fc2931ec5b0">AI tools reshape sound</h2>



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/could-generative-ai-go-mad-and-wreck-internet-data/">Generative artificial intelligence</a> tools turn plain language prompts into full songs. Platforms such as Suno and Stable Audio let users specify mood, tempo, and instrumentation, already powering thousands of YouTube reels.



A 2024 market report predicts the AI music segment will top $3 billion by 2028. Analysts tie that growth to advertisers and indie game studios hungry for cheap, custom soundtracks.



The Barcelona team asked whether synthetic tracks do more than fill silence. Their three test conditions paired identical visuals with a traditional cinematic score, an AI track built from a rich prompt, and another AI track based on a bare-bones prompt that only listed emotional values.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="block-0cb9f345-fd8f-4332-ac8b-14642769eb03">AI music boosts response</h2>



Eye tracking showed wider pupil dilation with both AI tracks than with the human score. The average increase of 0.18 millimeters is a reliable marker of stronger emotional arousal.



“Both types of AI-generated music led to greater pupil dilation and were perceived as more emotionally stimulating compared to human-created music,” said Fišer.



The observation matches earlier work linking dilated pupils to heightened sound induced <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mixed-emotions-linked-to-unique-brain-activity/">excitement</a>.



The findings suggested that decoding the emotional information in AI generated music may require greater cognitive effort. Detailed-prompt music also raised blink frequency by about 20 percent and boosted galvanic skin response, two signs of heavier cognitive processing.



Those physiological changes never reached awareness. Self report scores on mood stayed neutral, underscoring how bodies can signal strain or thrill before minds notice.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="block-2e75cf18-2cdb-41df-bbc5-a83fadc15c5e">Stretching memory with music</h2>



Working memory has strict limits, and sensory streams vie for capacity.



When music grows dense, the brain allocates more resources to decoding <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/our-brain-doesnt-just-hear-music-it-becomes-the-rhythm/">rhythm</a> and harmony. But despite the brain's limits, the volunteers recalled the scene details on a follow-up quiz given by the researchers.



Moderate cognitive stretching might even help memory by sharpening focus. Researchers have seen similar effects when suspenseful scores accompany learning videos in classrooms.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="block-860683d1-cb9e-4938-8306-c63d1e0faa39">The comfort of convention</h2>



Participants labeled the human score most familiar even though none had heard it before. Hollywood conventions, minor keys for tension, swelling strings for relief, prime ears to tag certain tonal shapes as known, and familiarity often aligns with preference.



AI tracks sounded novel by contrast. Novelty itself widens pupils and drives exploratory attention, a link shown in infant work using out of scale melodies.



Familiarity speeds prediction, letting brains <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-the-brain-decides-what-to-focus-on-and-what-to-ignore/">focus</a> on surprises instead of every beat. Predictive coding models suggest that once AI engines fully mirror those statistics, listeners may stop guessing who wrote the music.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="block-1b374b32-3c9a-4a1a-8cb8-b0bccdc51731">Cheaper music, same punch</h2>



Production budgets shrink when music can be drafted in seconds instead of weeks. Independent filmmakers already replace temp library cues with AI stems, and the new physiology data hints those placeholders may survive to final release because the emotional punch is strong.



Meanwhile, concert halls see opportunity. Hybrid shows where algorithms improvise beside live musicians sold out pilot events in Los Angeles this spring.



Licensing rules, however, remain unsettled. The U.S. Copyright Office says fully AI generated works lack protection, muddying royalty streams for tracks that still rack up millions of plays.



Asset managers notice the turmoil. Stock music libraries now add AI only shelves and price them lower, betting high volume will offset thinner margins.



Music schools are responding with new modules on human-AI collaboration. Students who once studied counterpoint now also learn prompt design.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="block-9d2ede96-b682-47b6-9763-a55a16739b41">Ethics of algorithmic emotion</h2>



Hidden <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ai-can-predict-human-life-events-including-death/">algorithms</a> raise new questions about consent. Viewers on social media never sign forms telling them a guitar riff underneath might be steering the mood.



Media psychologists caution that pairing sentiment analysis with instant music could let advertisers tweak emotions on the fly.



Artists worry about training data. Lawsuits in New York and London argue that scraping copyrighted recordings violates performers’ rights.



Fišer’s group proposes metadata flags describing arousal targets so editors can set upper limits in children’s or therapeutic content. Regulators in Europe may move first, as the draft <a href="https://artificialintelligenceact.eu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">EU Artificial Intelligence Act</a> already calls for clear labels on synthetic audio.



For now, the lesson is simple. The score behind your next online video may come from a server rack, and your body may cheer before your brain notices.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0326498">PLOS</a><a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0326498" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"> </a><a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0326498">One</a>.



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AI soundtracks stir stronger emotions than music composed by humans

Lately, if a soundtrack in a streaming clip stirred your...

Astronomers have spotted what may be a rare type of black hole hiding on the outskirts of a distant galaxy. This discovery could help fill in a key missing piece in our understanding of how black holes grow over time - and how galaxies build themselves around them.



The new object, known as NGC 6099 HLX-1, was picked up through a collaborative effort using NASA’s <a href="https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Hubble Space Telescope</a> and the Chandra X-ray Observatory.



The bright X-ray signal coming from this object suggests it might belong to a hard-to-find class of black holes known as intermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs).



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-elusive-intermediate-black-hole">The elusive intermediate black hole</h2>



The suspected black hole is located within a compact star cluster about 40,000 light-years from the center of the galaxy NGC 6099. This galaxy lies approximately 450 million light-years away in the constellation Hercules.



Most galaxies have two kinds of black holes. The massive ones - millions to billions of times the mass of our Sun - are located in the center of galaxies. Then, there are the much smaller black holes - typically less than 100 times the Sun’s mass - formed from <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dead-stars-reveal-the-hidden-physics-of-the-universe/">dying stars</a>.



Between the smallest and largest black holes lies a largely uncharted middle ground: intermediate-mass black holes. Ranging from hundreds to hundreds of thousands of solar masses, they’ve been incredibly difficult to detect.



Unlike their larger cousins, IMBHs usually aren’t feeding. They don’t suck in enough material to glow brightly. Unless something triggers a flare - like a passing star getting too close - they remain invisible.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-black-hole-caught-in-the-act">A black hole caught in the act</h2>



In this case, astronomers believe the black hole may have been caught red-handed during one of those feeding episodes, what scientists call a “<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/18-black-holes-captured-devouring-nearby-stars-in-dramatic-tidal-disruption-events/">tidal disruption event</a>.” When a black hole tears apart a star, it creates a superheated disk of plasma that shines in X-rays.



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://youtu.be/_tdzj2jlKBk?si=KZ9OB1dDOpj5qHX4
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Video Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/ Paul Morris</figcaption></figure>



Chandra first picked up the signal in 2009. ESA’s XMM-Newton observatory then tracked it over time. In 2012, the object reached peak brightness - about 100 times brighter than it was in 2009. Since then, the brightness has faded.



“If the IMBH is eating a star, how long does it take to swallow the star’s gas? In 2009, HLX-1 was fairly bright. Then in 2012, it was about 100 times brighter. And then it went down again,” noted study co-author Roberto Soria of the Italian National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF). 



“So now we need to wait and see if it’s flaring multiple times, or there was a beginning, there was peak, and now it’s just going to go down all the way until it disappears.”



The X-ray emission from HLX-1 is at a temperature of about 3 million degrees, which is consistent with a violent event. Hubble added more detail by spotting a dense <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/stunning-star-clusters-captured-in-the-extreme-outskirts-of-the-milky-way/">cluster of stars</a> around the black hole. 



In this packed environment, stars are only a few light-months apart - about 500 billion miles - providing plenty of fuel for a black hole to feast on.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-intermediate-mass-black-holes-matter">Why intermediate-mass black holes matter</h2>



“X-ray sources with such extreme luminosity are rare outside galaxy nuclei and can serve as a key probe for identifying elusive <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/intermediate-mass-black-holes-survive-and-thrive-in-giant-star-clusters/">IMBHs</a>. They represent a crucial missing link in black hole evolution between stellar mass and supermassive black holes,” said lead author Yi-Chi Chang of <a href="https://nthu-en.site.nthu.edu.tw/index.php">National Tsing Hua University</a>.



Scientists want to study intermediate-mass black holes more closely because they might be the building blocks for the enormous black holes at galactic centers. 



When smaller galaxies merge into larger ones, their black holes may combine too. Over time, this could form the supermassive black holes we see today. Hubble data has shown that bigger galaxies tend to have bigger central black holes, suggesting they grew together.



Alternatively, some theories suggest that black holes in the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-capture-baby-pictures-of-the-very-early-universe-cosmic-microwave-background/">early universe</a> didn’t start small. Instead, clouds of gas in dark-matter halos may have skipped star formation entirely and collapsed straight into giant black holes.



NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has recently found very distant black holes that seem too massive for the size of their galaxies. That might support the direct-collapse idea. Or it could be that we’re just missing the smaller ones because they’re too faint to detect at such great distances.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-telescopes-that-scan-the-entire-sky">Telescopes that scan the entire sky</h2>



“So if we are lucky, we’re going to find more free-floating black holes suddenly becoming X-ray bright because of a tidal disruption event," said Soria.



"If we can do a statistical study, this will tell us how many of these IMBHs there are, how often they disrupt a star, how bigger galaxies have grown by assembling smaller galaxies."



The main problem is coverage. Chandra and XMM-Newton observe only a tiny portion of the sky. That makes it hard to catch these sudden flares in real time. But there’s hope on the horizon.



The upcoming Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile will scan the entire sky regularly in optical light. It could help catch more of these events. 



Then, space telescopes like Hubble and Webb can follow up to confirm whether an IMBH was behind the show - and maybe help us figure out how these cosmic heavyweights really come to be.



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'Free-floating' black hole appears to be feeding on a star

Astronomers have spotted what may be a rare type of...

A new kind of onboard AI gives satellites the power to think for themselves - deciding in under 90 seconds whether a target on Earth is worth capturing. The system is called Dynamic Targeting, and it’s designed to make space-based observations sharper, quicker, and more useful.



This innovation was recently tested by scientists at <a href="https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory</a> in Southern California, and the results show real promise.



For the first time, a satellite orbiting Earth was able to look ahead along its flight path, analyze imagery using artificial intelligence, and then redirect its instruments without any input from people on the ground.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ai-helps-satellites-think-fast">AI helps satellites think fast</h2>



Dynamic Targeting has been in development for over ten years. The core idea is simple: make spacecraft act less like passive cameras and more like quick-thinking observers. 



During a test in July, the system ran on a commercial satellite, with a clear goal - prove that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/worlds-first-lunar-earth-flyby-gave-juice-spacecraft-successful-gravity-boost-to-jupiter/">spacecraft</a> can pick better targets on their own.



Instead of just snapping photos of whatever is below, Dynamic Targeting helps satellites avoid common issues like clouds and focus on what matters. 



In the future, the system could even track fast-changing events like wildfires, volcanic eruptions, and intense storms.



“The idea is to make the spacecraft act more like a human: Instead of just seeing data, it’s thinking about what the data shows and how to respond,” said Steve Chien, principal investigator for the Dynamic Targeting project. 



“When a human sees a picture of trees burning, they understand it may indicate a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/forest-fire-smoke-boosts-ocean-life-but-with-a-hidden-cost/">forest fire</a>, not just a collection of red and orange pixels. We’re trying to make the spacecraft have the ability to say, ‘That’s a fire,’ and then focus its sensors on the fire.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-teaching-satellites-to-skip-the-clouds">Teaching satellites to skip the clouds</h2>



In its first real-world test, Dynamic Targeting wasn’t looking for fires or storms just yet. Its mission was to dodge something far more ordinary: <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/clouds-have-become-less-reflective-making-global-warming-worse/">clouds</a>.



For Earth-observing <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/biomass-satellite-mission-sends-first-images-of-earths-most-extreme-environments/">satellites</a>, clouds are a major obstacle. They block the view up to two-thirds of the time. Most sensors simply collect whatever’s in front of them - even if it’s just cloud cover. That wastes valuable storage and processing time.



Dynamic Targeting changes that. The system allows the satellite to scan 300 miles ahead to check for clear skies. If it sees clouds, the shot is canceled. If the coast is clear, it captures the image as it passes overhead.



“If you can be smart about what you’re taking pictures of, then you only image the ground and skip the clouds. That way, you’re not storing, processing, and downloading all this imagery researchers really can’t use,” said Ben Smith, an associate with NASA’s Earth Science Technology Office.



Smith noted that the technology will help scientists get a much higher proportion of usable data.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-it-works-in-orbit">How it works in orbit</h2>



The latest test flew aboard CogniSAT-6, a compact CubeSat launched in March 2024. It’s built and operated by Open Cosmos and carries a payload from Ubotica featuring an off-the-shelf AI processor. 



The processor was tested earlier on the International Space Station, using similar algorithms.



Because CogniSAT-6 doesn’t have a dedicated forward-facing imager, it tilts forward by 40 to 50 degrees to take a peek ahead. The satellite uses a camera that sees in both visible and near-infrared light.



The onboard AI then analyzes that imagery to find clouds. If the view looks clear, the spacecraft turns back to look straight down and captures the scene below.



The whole cycle - scan, analyze, aim, and shoot - happens while the satellite hurtles through space at 17,000 miles per hour. And it all wraps up in under 90 seconds.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-avoiding-clouds-and-targeting-trouble">Avoiding clouds and targeting trouble</h2>



With the cloud-avoidance test complete, the team is already looking at what’s next. Upcoming trials will flip the goal: instead of dodging clouds, the satellite will target them - particularly severe <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ai-can-predict-the-weather-but-what-about-extreme-events/">storm</a> systems. 



Other tests will focus on heat anomalies like volcanic eruptions or active wildfires. Each task will use its own set of tailored algorithms.



“This initial deployment of Dynamic Targeting is a hugely important step,” Chien said. “The end goal is operational use on a science mission, making for a very agile instrument taking novel measurements.”



Ultimately, the technology could be used beyond Earth. The team actually drew inspiration from past work with ESA’s Rosetta orbiter, which proved it was possible to track gas plumes from a comet without waiting for human commands. That same thinking now informs the Dynamic Targeting system.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ai-can-catch-what-we-usually-miss">AI can catch what we usually miss</h2>



Back on Earth, the team is thinking about new applications. One possibility is using radar instead of optical sensors. 



Radar-equipped satellites with Dynamic Targeting could lock onto short-lived weather events like deep convective ice storms - rare and dangerous winter storms that are hard to catch with current systems.



There’s also a bigger vision: satellite teamwork. In one idea, a lead satellite would process images and spot interesting targets. Then it would alert a trailing satellite to zoom in for closer study. 



Eventually, a whole fleet of autonomous satellites could work together, sharing data in real time.



Chien and the team at JPL are already preparing a test of that concept, called Federated Autonomous MEasurement, that is scheduled to begin later this year.



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AI system helps satellites make their own decisions

A new kind of onboard AI gives satellites the power...

Across the eastern United States, tree communities are shifting toward fewer species in a process known as homogenization. A long-term case study now shows how quickly a decline in tree diversity can unfold inside a single Midwestern forest.



The 24-acre Trelease Woods, owned by the <a href="https://illinois.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Illinois</a> since 1917, has been surveyed again and again for almost a century.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tracking-a-century-of-forest-diversity">Tracking a century of forest diversity </h2>



The team mined plot maps, punch-card data, and modern laser measurements to follow every tree wider than 2.5 inches recorded since 1922. During that period, species richness slipped from 23 to 20 as sugar maple and Ohio buckeye seized much of the growing space.



Trelease now forms part of the <a href="https://forestgeo.si.edu/what-forestgeo" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ForestGEO</a> network, which monitors roughly seven million trees representing nearly 13,000 species worldwide. Linking the local census to that global database allows scientists to compare small-scale stories with continental patterns.



Tree <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/can-trees-protect-their-genetic-diversity-for-millions-of-years/">diversity</a> fell 22 percent overall, and the steepest drop showed up in saplings shorter than five inches across. That decline signals a forest less able to roll with surprise pests, storms, or heat waves.



Average tree diameter shrank by one-fifth as tiny saplings crowded below a still-expanding maple canopy. Yet the three largest trunks on the plot, two bur oaks and a black walnut, grew even larger - showing that veteran giants can coexist with maple expansion.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-pests-and-declining-tree-diversity">Pests and declining tree diversity </h2>



The invasive emerald ash borer kills more than 99 percent of untreated ash trees and could cost U.S. cities an estimated 900 million dollars over the next three decades. Dutch elm disease, driven by the fungus Ophiostoma novo-ulmi, has already erased most mature American elms in many states.



“Dutch elm disease and the emerald ash borer have significantly decreased the abundance of elm and ash trees in Trelease Woods and across North America,” said Jennifer Fraterrigo, who helped lead the analysis.



When the insects and fungi hollow out elms and ashes, they open holes in the canopy. Shade-loving seedlings waiting below pounce on the new light before slower oaks or hickories can respond.



Ash logs that once shaded summer research crews now lie riddled with larval galleries, their distinct D-shaped exit holes signaling where beetles fled. 



Because ash and elm filled different ecological niches - elm trunks provided shelter for cavity-nesting birds, while ash trees rapidly recycled nutrients - their simultaneous loss intensifies ecosystem disruption.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-fires-and-forest-diversity">Fires and forest diversity </h2>



Early last century, federal and state policies pushed to stamp out most woodland <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-aspen-forests-can-help-stop-wildfires-in-their-tracks/">fires</a>, and that retreat of flames helped tip forests toward shade-tolerant, mesic species. 



Ecologists call the feedback loop mesophication, because the stand grows cooler, wetter, and ever friendlier to maples and other moisture-loving trees.



At Trelease, fire scars are absent in modern cross-sections, and the canopy has steadily darkened. That shift leaves oak seedlings gasping for sun while sugar maples prosper under their own shade.



Sapling counts confirm the change: maple stems now outnumber oaks almost ten to one in the smallest size class. Without periodic burns, managers say, the imbalance will only grow.



Researchers elsewhere have shown that just a few carefully timed burns can reverse mesophication, but only if enough oak seedlings remain in the bank. The Trelease dataset hints that the window for that turnaround is closing as maple dominance widens.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-deer-change-the-understory">Deer change the understory</h2>



Soaring numbers of white-tailed deer compound the problem by selectively browsing palatable seedlings and suppressing regeneration. Browsed stems stay short, letting shade widen across the forest floor.



Hackberry, basswood, and ash suffer the most nibbles here, while less tasty pawpaw spreads in their place. Those dietary choices accelerate the compositional skid already set in motion by pests and fire exclusion.



Even sugar maple, a deer favorite, persists because enough seedlings dodge grazing to replenish each gap. The result is a patchwork where a few hardy winners dominate every height layer.



Camera traps inside the woodlot now record up to eight deer per square mile, double early-1990s estimates kept by state biologists. Such densities far exceed the one to three deer per square mile many ecologists recommend for <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/should-we-cut-down-all-oak-trees-isoprene-emissions-air-pollution-climate-change/">oak</a> regeneration.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-tree-species-diversity-matters">Why tree species diversity matters</h2>



Losing species diversity strips away the ecological insurance that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/trees-are-losing-the-battle-against-climate-change/">forests</a> rely on when drought, disease, or storms strike. Fraterrigo warns that if one species swells to 70 percent of stems, a single new pest could trigger what she calls functional collapse.



Economic stakes are high as well, because mixed stands store more carbon and support more wildlife than single-species blocks. Long-term monitoring like the Trelease census offers early warning before those services vanish.



Tree variety underpins a mosaic of flowering times, leaf chemistries, and root depths that spreads risk the way a smart investor spreads capital. Homogenization erases that portfolio, leaving the system riding on a single economic bet.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-broader-implications-of-the-study">Broader implications of the study</h2>



Researchers suggest thinning dense maple thickets, reintroducing low-intensity burns, and culling deer to rebalance light and browsing pressure. Planting diverse native saplings in canopy gaps can also jump-start forest recovery.



Lessons from Trelease now inform experiments across the ForestGEO network as scientists test which combinations of fire, harvest, and wildlife control restore forest <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/smarter-forest-design-can-help-fight-climate-change/">resilience</a>. Managers elsewhere may adapt those findings to keep their own woods from sliding into maple monocultures.



Some managers have begun injecting systemic insecticides into lingering ash saplings to preserve genetic stock until biocontrol agents catch up. Others experiment with protective cages around oak seedlings to give them a head start against hungry deer.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378112725002154?via%3Dihub" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Forest Ecology and Management</a>.



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Century-old forest study reveals troubling decline in tree diversity

Across the eastern United States, tree communities are shifting toward...

Ancient marine fossils from North Greenland have shed light on a major misidentification. A creature once thought to be an early squid relative is not a cephalopod at all. New research shows it is actually linked to arrow worms, or chaetognaths. These creatures swam in Earth's seas more than 500 million years ago.



The study was led by researchers from the <a href="https://www.bristol.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Bristol</a>, the Korean Polar Research Institute, and the University of Copenhagen. 



The team examined 25 fossils of a mysterious creature called a nectocaridid. Once believed to be an ancient cephalopod, it had a squid-like shape that puzzled scientists for years.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-arrow-worm-fossil-found-in-greenland">Arrow worm fossil found in Greenland</h2>



The fossils came from Sirius Passet, a site known for exceptional preservation. Located in North Greenland, this fossil bed holds delicate remains from the Early Cambrian period, around 518 million years ago.



“Sirius Passet is a treasure trove of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/frozen-worm-comes-back-to-life-after-46000-years/">fossils</a> from the Cambrian Explosion. We not only find delicate soft-bodied fossils but also their digestive systems, musculature and sometimes even their nervous system,” noted Dr. Jakob Vinther from the <a href="https://www.bristol.ac.uk" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Bristol</a>.



Fifteen years ago, a paper based on Burgess Shale fossils proposed that nectocaridids were cephalopods related to octopuses and squids. That claim confused many in the field.



“It never really made sense to me, as the hypothesis would upend everything we otherwise know about cephalopods, and their anatomy didn’t closely match cephalopods when you looked carefully,” said Dr. Vinther.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-nervous-system-holds-the-answer">Nervous system holds the answer</h2>



As more fossils emerged, researchers noticed something unique. Many specimens had their nervous systems preserved in mineral form. This was a key breakthrough.



“We discovered our nectocaridids preserve parts of their nervous system as paired mineralised structures, and that was a giveaway as to where these <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/tiny-worm-fossil-helps-solve-an-evolutionary-mystery/">animals</a> sit in the tree of life,” said Dr. Vinther.



Soon after, the team found fossils of arrow worms, which helped solve the mystery. One clear feature made the connection possible: the ventral ganglion.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ganglion-links-to-arrow-worm-fossil">Ganglion links to arrow worm fossil</h2>



This ventral ganglion is a nerve mass found on the underside of living arrow worms. It is unique to their group and sometimes gets replaced with phosphate minerals during decay, making it fossilize well.



“These fossils all preserve a unique feature, distinct for arrow worms, called the ventral ganglion,” noted Dr. Tae-Yoon Park from the <a href="https://eng.kopri.re.kr" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Korean Polar Institute</a>.



That discovery gave the team the final clue they needed. “We now had a smoking gun to resolve the nectocaridid controversy. Nectocaridids share a number of features with some of the other fossils that also belong to the arrow worm stem lineage,” said Park.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-arrow-worm-fossil-only-looked-like-squid">Arrow worm fossil only looked like squid</h2>



Despite their similarity to squids, nectocaridids were not related. Their streamlined shape was simply an adaptation to swimming. 



“Many of these features are superficially squid-like and reflect simple adaptations to an active swimming mode of life in invertebrates, just like whales and ancient marine reptiles end up looking like fish when they evolve such a mode of life,” Park explained.



This means evolution shaped their bodies for speed and stealth, and similarities with squids were not due to a shared ancestor or genetic heritage.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-eyes-antennae-and-stealth">Eyes, antennae, and stealth</h2>



One of their most remarkable features is their eyes. These ancient <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/worm-dna-is-changing-how-we-understand-evolution/">creatures</a> had complex eyes whereas today’s arrow worms can barely detect light direction.



“Nectocaridids have complex camera eyes just like ours. Living arrow worms can hardly form an image beyond working out roughly where the sun shines,” said Dr. Vinther. 



“Our fossils can be much bigger than a typical living arrow worm and, combined with their swimming apparatus, eyes and long antennae, they must have been formidable and stealthy predators."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-evidence-of-carnivorous-diet">Evidence of carnivorous diet</h2>



The team found direct proof of their predatory nature. Some fossils had remains of Isoxys, a type of swimming arthropod, in their digestive tracts. This shows they hunted and consumed other <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ancient-worms-feasted-on-the-bones-of-giant-marine-animals/">marine animals</a>.



The new species has been named&nbsp;Nektognathus evasmithae. It honors Professor Eva Smith, Denmark’s first female law professor and a defender of human rights.



“My decision to name our fossil after Eva, is that this animal was a smart and stealthy fighter just like she is,” Dr. Vinther concluded.



Ultimately, this discovery changes our view of early marine food webs and the evolution of modern sea predators.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adu6990">Science Advances</a>.



Image Credit: Bob Nicholls



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Ancient 'squid' turned out to be something else entirely

Ancient marine fossils from North Greenland have shed light on...

Plastic bottles and caps clutter beaches up and down Latin America's Pacific coast. Most of them aren’t foreign - they’re local. And the bottles can often be traced back to three big names in the beverage industry: The Coca-Cola Company, Aje Group, and PepsiCo.



The coastlines hit hardest by this plastic waste are in Central America. That’s likely because of how common single-use bottles are, combined with poor waste infrastructure and the push of ocean currents. 



Meanwhile, island beaches - like those on the Galápagos and Rapa Nui - tend to collect more bottles from Asia, possibly dumped at sea and carried long distances.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-trail-of-plastic-along-the-pacific">A trail of plastic along the Pacific</h2>



The findings come from a major study led by researchers at the <a href="https://web.ub.edu/en/home">University of Barcelona</a>. Their work covered more than 12,000 kilometers of Pacific coastline, spanning from Mexico to Chile. 



The research is the first regional effort of its kind, mapping <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/bottled-water-has-become-a-global-scourge-wreaking-environmental-havoc/">plastic bottle pollution</a> across 10 Latin American countries. The team studied 92 mainland beaches, 15 island beaches, and 38 coastal communities.



This wasn’t just a lab project. It was a massive collaboration. Between 2023 and 2024, more than 1,000 volunteers and 200 local leaders helped collect samples, making this a landmark example of citizen science in action.



The data shows a clear pattern. Most bottles were found in mainland urban areas, while island beaches often had older items, sometimes dating back over two decades. 



The oldest samples included a Powerade® bottle from 2001 found in Peru, and a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/coca-cola-may-dump-1-3b-pounds-plastic-into-oceans-by-2030/">Coca-Cola</a>® bottle from 2002 on a Chilean island.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-bottle-labels-reveal">What bottle labels reveal</h2>



By reading the labels and engravings on bottles and caps, scientists were able to figure out where each item came from and how long it had been floating around.



Study co-author Miquel Canals is a professor in the Department of Earth and Ocean Dynamics.



“In addition to the great value of citizen science, a particularly remarkable element of the work carried out is the intelligent use of the information contained in the bottles and their caps (labels, engravings) to obtain key information about the manufacturer, and the date and place of manufacture, among others,” said Professor Canals. 



“This allowed us to identify the sources of this contamination and the route taken by individual items until they reach the beach or town where they were collected.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-identifying-the-plastic-bottles">Identifying the plastic bottles</h2>



Out of all the bottles collected, 59% were produced in Latin American Pacific countries. The most common types were for soft drinks, water, and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/energy-drinks-linked-to-insomnia-among-college-students/">energy drinks</a> - most of them single-use and single-serve. 



In urban areas and on mainland beaches, 54.9% of the bottles were found without caps. On island beaches, 73.4% still had their caps attached. 



Researchers identified 356 brands from 253 companies, with The Coca-Cola Company, Aje Group, and PepsiCo appearing most frequently.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-where-the-plastic-comes-from">Where the plastic comes from</h2>



While most bottles were locally produced, some came from farther away. A small but telling share were from Asia (1.8%), North America (0.3%), and Europe (0.04%). In nearly 39% of cases, the origin could not be determined.



“On the mainland beaches of Mexico, Guatemala and the southern countries - Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Chile - most of the bottles came from the same country," noted the researchers.



"In contrast, in the Central American countries - El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama - the percentages of locally sourced items were significantly lower, with those of external origin predominating."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-plastic-diversity-hotspots">Plastic diversity hotspots</h2>



Panama turned out to be a hotspot for diversity in plastic waste, with bottles coming from at least six different regions. 



On the islands, the situation shifted. Just 42.4% of bottles were from Latin America, and a large portion came from Asia.



“The distribution of bottle origins is not random, but geographically structured, with a predominance of specific countries of origin in specific environments and sub-regions, and also in specific countries, of course,” noted the study authors. 



“This trend would reflect the consumption habits, waste management practices (where they exist) and oceanographic transport processes that influence the distribution of these <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/plastics-supercharge-toxin-absorption-in-plants-and-humans/">plastic pollutants</a>.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-when-plastic-becomes-habitat">When plastic becomes habitat</h2>



Plastic bottles don’t just float. Some become temporary homes for <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/is-it-still-possible-to-save-the-ocean-from-plastic-pollution/">marine</a> organisms. Scientists found these “epibionts” - tiny creatures clinging to the plastic - on nearly 9% of bottles. 



The organisms showed up most often on mainland beaches in Central America. That supports the idea that some of this plastic arrives via ocean currents after spending time adrift.



Study lead author Ostin Garcés-Ordóñez is a member of the UB’s Consolidated Research Group in Marine Geosciences and the University of La Guajira.



“These findings point to a spatial pattern in the age of the items: the most recent ones predominate in human settlements, while the oldest ones are found on beaches, especially on the beaches of oceanic islands,” said Garcés-Ordóñez.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-turning-beach-waste-into-policy-action">Turning beach waste into policy action</h2>



Tackling this issue isn’t just about cleaning up beaches. The study calls for better local waste management and pressure on companies to move toward reusable packaging.



“In the future, we want to analyze the impact of seasonal climatic variations, river inputs and tourist activity on the dynamics of plastic bottle and cap pollution on coasts and in coastal cities," said the researchers.



"Oceanographic modeling could also be integrated to track the transport trajectories of plastic litter in the ocean and thus identify distant sources of pollution."



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0959652625015847">Journal of Cleaner Production</a>.



Image Credit: Ostin Garcés



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Plastic bottles reveal the companies behind a Pacific litter crisis

Plastic bottles and caps clutter beaches up and down Latin...

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



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



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



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



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



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



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Worms dominated seas before dinosaurs

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



The full study was published in the journal Current Biology.



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Earth's oldest forest found in the United States

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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The environmental problem we actually solved

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

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

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







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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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What to plant in your garden in mid-July

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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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Wildlife tunnels save millions of amphibians

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Is chocolate the next nutritional powerhouse?

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

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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