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...

Babies can learn with more intention and complexity than previously believed. The results of a new study reshape how we understand early cognitive development.



The research, led by neuroscientist Francesco Poli in the Donders Institute at <a href="https://www.ru.nl/en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Radboud University</a> shows that eight-month-old infants can adjust their learning strategy based on how unpredictable their surroundings are. 



“The conventional wisdom is that eight-month-old <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/baby-talk-may-explain-what-sets-humans-apart-from-apes/">babies</a> passively absorb knowledge,” said Poli. “We see that babies are able to adapt their learning strategies to their environment from a very young age.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-babies-learn-to-predict-events">Babies learn to predict events</h2>



The team presented infants with a game involving a colorful monster. This creature appeared on different sides of a screen, either consistently or randomly. The researchers used an eye tracker to measure where the babies looked and how their pupils responded.



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/what-baby-talk-reveals-about-infant-learning/">Babies</a> began to predict where the monster would appear next. When the monster switched sides more often, babies updated their expectations. When the monster stayed in one spot, they learned to expect it there. 



This showed that infants could flexibly manage their learning strategies even when conditions changed.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-babies-track-uncertainty">How babies track uncertainty</h2>



The experiment also used advanced modeling tools, including a Volatile Kalman Filter (VKF), to map learning behavior. Pupil size helped researchers read the babies’ responses to uncertainty. 



Tonic pupil size, measured before the monster appeared, indicated how uncertain the babies felt. Phasic responses, measured just after the monster appeared, captured how surprised they were.



According to the study, babies formed a belief about the monster's location. They updated this belief when their prediction failed. The VKF model captured how babies estimated volatility, or how often they expected change.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-babies-adjust-learning-based-on-stability">Babies adjust learning based on stability</h2>



The VKF allowed researchers to measure prediction error, the gap between what the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/why-some-babies-walk-much-earlier-than-others/">baby</a> expected and what actually happened. 



Larger errors led to bigger pupil reactions, but only in unstable environments. When things were stable, those same errors were treated as unimportant.



The pupil dilation chart on page 4 confirms this. High prediction error in high volatility led to stronger pupil reactions. 



In low volatility, the same prediction error had less effect. This means babies not only noticed change but also gauged when it mattered for learning.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-babies-interpret-uncertainty">How babies interpret uncertainty </h2>



The study shows that babies respond differently to changes in their environment. Some overreact to small, harmless shifts, while others miss important ones. These patterns are not random. They reflect how each baby interprets uncertainty.



To explore this, researchers asked parents to complete a temperament questionnaire. It included measures of how well a baby can calm down or stay focused, how often they show joy or enthusiasm, and how easily they become upset.



Babies who overestimated volatility, meaning they learned to believe that the world changed too often, had more difficulty with emotional regulation. They struggled to soothe themselves and stay calm. These babies also showed fewer signs of positive emotion, such as smiling or playfulness.



In contrast, babies who judged environmental changes more accurately were better at regulating their emotions. They also displayed more cheerful and engaging behavior. This suggests that the way a baby perceives change may already shape their emotional style in daily life.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-predicting-future-mental-health">Predicting future mental health</h2>



In adults, poor response to change has links to anxiety and depression. Poli speculates the same could be true in infants. “But this is still speculation. To be able to say this with certainty, longitudinal research is needed,” he noted.



The developmental pathway graphic mentioned in the study sketches how early learning styles could shape future mental health. 



Babies who misjudge change may be more prone to internalizing or externalizing behaviors, like withdrawal or impulsivity.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-rewriting-the-baby-rulebook">Rewriting the baby rulebook</h2>



This work challenges the idea that babies are just sponges. Instead, they show signs of agency, actively using environmental feedback to guide their next move. 



The findings suggest that a baby's early learning skills might interact with their environment to shape long-term well-being.



The study also shows how minor behavioral responses, like a change in pupil size, can offer deep insight into the inner lives of infants.



Babies are not passive observers. They anticipate, adjust, and make decisions using complex internal models. The ability to gauge when the world is stable or unpredictable emerges far earlier than we assumed. 



Understanding these patterns could help support emotional health from the very beginning of life.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adu2014" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Science Advances</a>.



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Babies adapt to change using flexible learning strategies

Babies can learn with more intention and complexity than previously...

Bird feeding is a cherished pastime across many cultures. Whether it’s scattering breadcrumbs near a city pond or hanging feeders outside suburban windows, millions of people engage in acts of casual care for wild birds. 



Recent research from the <a href="https://www.uark.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Arkansas</a> reveals that what we feed birds can deeply affect how they handle disease.



The study revealed that canaries on high-protein diets developed stronger immune profiles and milder symptoms when infected with Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG), a pathogen common in wild <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/hundreds-of-bird-species-could-vanish-in-the-next-century/">songbirds</a>.



“Our results are exciting because of the importance of human supplemented food in wildlife disease systems, especially wild birds, which are commonly provided with supplemental food via bird feeders,” said Erin Sauer, lead author of the study.



This research is the first to link diet with molecular-level immune differences in wildlife. It focuses on how food type - not just quantity - shapes disease outcomes in birds.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-protein-fed-birds-recover-faster">Protein-fed birds recover faster</h2>



The researchers divided canaries into two groups. One group received a high-protein diet made mostly of egg whites, while the other received a high-fat diet with more yolk and oil. Birds were then exposed to the MG pathogen or given a harmless placebo.



Before infection, protein-fed <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/bird-evolution-timeline-pushed-back-20-million-years-by-baminornis-zhenghensis-discovery/">birds</a> already showed increased expression of immune-related genes. After infection, lipid-fed birds had to ramp up their immune systems, while protein-fed birds maintained steady, high-level expression. This shows their immune systems were already ready.



Protein-fed birds recovered faster. Their eye inflammation - a symptom of MG - was lower and cleared quicker. Lipid-fed birds took longer to recover, with more prolonged symptoms.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-immune-gene-activity-before-infection">Immune gene activity before infection</h2>



The team used RNA sequencing to analyze gene activity. Before infection, protein-fed <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/birds-are-struggling-to-keep-pace-with-a-warming-climate/">birds</a> had 267 genes upregulated related to immune defense. 



Lipid-fed birds had 248 different genes upregulated, many tied to basic cellular functions like ribosome activity, not immunity.



After infection, the contrast grew. Lipid-fed birds showed over 1,000 genes with significant changes. Protein-fed birds had only 66 such genes. 



This means lipid-fed birds had to drastically adjust their systems during infection. Protein-fed birds needed little change - they were already prepared.



Surprisingly, immune genes like JCHAIN (linked to antibody production) were seven times more active in protein-fed birds before infection. Lipid-fed birds only caught up after infection, suggesting delayed immune readiness.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-metabolic-clues-and-broader-implications">Metabolic clues and broader implications</h2>



Diet also influenced energy-related genes. Lipid-fed birds showed signs of stress in genes tied to mitochondrial function and insulin regulation. 



One gene, LEPR (leptin receptor), responded in opposite ways between the two groups. This points to broader metabolic differences that could influence disease tolerance.



These molecular effects mirror patterns seen in wild house finches that have evolved tolerance to MG. This suggests that simple dietary changes can mimic the effects of natural selection.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-backyard-bird-lovers-can-do">What backyard bird lovers can do</h2>



So what can people feeding backyard <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/birds-may-be-using-quantum-physics-for-migration/">birds</a> take from this study?



Sauer suggests giving birds high-protein and nutrient-dense options. These include suet with seeds, mealworms, peanuts, and sunflower seeds. These foods support birds’ immune systems and overall condition.



Avoid feeding mostly cracked corn, millet, or bread. These offer limited nutritional value. Still, birds may need more fat during winter or migration, so balance matters. Birds will often choose what they need most.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-protein-can-boost-birds-survival">Protein can boost birds' survival</h2>



This study shows that everyday actions, like feeding birds, can directly impact their survival and overall health. While feeding may seem harmless or routine, the type of food offered plays a critical role. 



Poor-quality food can weaken birds' immune systems, making them less able to fight infections and recover from illness.



As human activity continues to reshape natural landscapes and spread disease more widely, our role in supporting wildlife becomes even more important. 



The research reminds us that meaningful change often begins with small, consistent habits. Offering nutrient-rich, protein-balanced food helps birds stay strong, boost immunity, and recover faster when sick or stressed.



Even simple choices at backyard feeders, such as selecting better ingredients, can strengthen birds’ natural defenses. These actions become a powerful way to support bird populations. 



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/mec.17793" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Molecular Ecology</a>.



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Protein helps birds prepare to fight off infection

Bird feeding is a cherished pastime across many cultures. Whether...

Many children and teenagers are struggling with mental health. Anxiety and depression are common, and the numbers are rising. 



Parents are looking for help, but standard treatments do not work for everyone. Exercise is now being explored as a practical way to support children’s emotional well-being.



A new study from the <a href="https://www.unisa.edu.au" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of South Australia</a> offers a practical solution. It shows that regular exercise, done in structured programs, can reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety in young people. 



This finding gives parents and teachers another option to support children’s mental <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/exercise-reduces-the-risk-of-brain-diseases-by-up-to-54-percent/">well-being</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-exercise-helps-children-s-mental-health">Exercise helps children’s mental health</h2>



The research team analyzed 375 clinical trials involving over 38,000 children and teens aged 5 - 18 years. This is the largest study of its kind. It found clear benefits for <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/combining-mindfulness-and-daily-activity-goals-increases-your-desire-to-move/">mental health</a> when children took part in exercise programs.



“Depression and anxiety are among the most prevalent mental health issues affecting children and teenagers worldwide,” noted Dr. Ben Singh, who led the study.



The data showed that exercise reduced symptoms of both conditions. Children with ADHD or clinical depression saw the biggest improvements. Adolescents over the age of twelve responded better than younger children.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-current-treatments-don-t-always-work">Current treatments don’t always work</h2>



Standard treatments include therapy and antidepressants. These are often recommended first. But many children either do not receive them or do not benefit from them. 



Some families cannot access therapy regularly. Others worry about side effects from medication.



“Evidence-based treatment guidelines often recommend cognitive behavior therapy and antidepressants as first-line interventions, yet 40 to 60 percent of children don’t receive treatment or fail to gain sufficient benefits, so we clearly need alternatives,” noted Dr. Singh.



Exercise offers a safe and affordable option that children can do at school, at home, or in the community. It is not meant to replace medical care, but it can be part of the support system.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-best-types-of-exercise-for-children">Best types of exercise for children</h2>



The study found that not all <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/small-bursts-of-intense-exercise-can-slow-brain-aging/">exercise</a> works the same way. For depression, moderate-intensity routines that mix aerobic and resistance training are most effective. For anxiety, low-intensity resistance training works better.



Programs shorter than twelve weeks led to bigger improvements for depression. The results for anxiety did not depend much on program length. Children benefited regardless of how many sessions they did each week or how long each session lasted.



“Our study draws together global evidence to show that gentle, light-intensity exercise is highly effective in reducing anxiety in children and teens, while medium-intensity programs that combine resistance and aerobic training, like circuits with weights, can counteract depression,” noted Dr. Singh.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-teens-have-more-significant-improvements">Teens have more significant improvements </h2>



Teenagers in the study improved more than younger children. This may be because teens have more stress or fewer chances to be physically active. The researchers suggest that the mental health <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/exercise-in-a-pill-is-now-closer-to-reality/">benefits</a> of exercise increase as children grow older.



Children with ADHD or other mental health diagnoses also responded very well to exercise. The improvements were stronger in these groups than in the general population. 



This means that children who are already facing difficulties may benefit the most from physical activity programs.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-kids-benefit-from-simple-exercise">Kids benefit from simple exercise </h2>



Parents do not need to spend money on gyms or trainers. Movement itself is what matters. Children can benefit from simple activities like playing sports, walking, or using home-based routines. Schools can also help by including structured physical activities during the week.



“Short, structured programs that include strength training or a mix of activities seem especially promising, but simply exercising, even for short amounts of time will deliver benefits,” noted Professor Carol Maher, who co-authored the study.



“And for parents, rest assured, you certainly don’t need to fork out money for a gym membership or training program; play-based activities, games, and sport are all valuable forms of movement that can support mental well-being.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-simple-way-to-improve-children-s-health">Simple way to improve children's health</h2>



Parents can start by encouraging daily activity that their children enjoy. Schools can include more structured movement in the school day. Even short breaks with light movement can make a difference over time.



“The key message is simple: get active and keep active. Even short bursts of movement can make a real difference to a child’s mental health and well-being, especially for those who are struggling,” noted Professor Maher.



This study does not claim that exercise replaces therapy or medication. But it does show that movement can play a real role in supporting children’s mental health. For families who want non-medical options, exercise is a strong place to start.



The key takeaway is simple. Movement helps, and children do not have to wait months or years to feel better. Results can appear in a matter of weeks. 



With the right approach, physical activity can become part of the everyday tools we use to support young people’s emotional well-being.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.jaacap.org/article/S0890-8567(25)00208-4/fulltext" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">JAACAP Connect</a>.



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Exercise eases mental health struggles in children and teens

Many children and teenagers are struggling with mental health. Anxiety...

Giant,Male,Cuttlefish,With,Stripe,Tentacles

When we imagine the ancient oceans, we often picture massive reptiles and shelled ammonites dominating the waters. For decades, paleontologists believed these creatures ruled the Mesozoic Era without much competition. 



However, a new study from Hokkaido University&nbsp;challenges that idea by revealing the unexpected dominance of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-squid-power-their-amazing-camouflage-abilities/">ancient</a> squids.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-understanding-squids-the-basics">Understanding squids - the basics</h2>



Squids are remarkable marine invertebrates belonging to the class <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/octopus-and-squid-senses-linked-to-human-brain-evolution/">Cephalopoda</a>, which they share with octopuses and cuttlefish. Their biology showcases some of nature’s most fascinating adaptations. 



Squids possess a mantle cavity for jet propulsion, using rapid water expulsion to move with precision and speed. Their large, complex eyes rival those of vertebrates, providing excellent vision crucial for detecting predators and prey in the dimly lit depths. 



Internally, they have a beak-like jaw and a radula for processing food, typically fish and crustaceans. One of their most iconic features is their ability to release ink, a defense mechanism that creates a smokescreen, enabling a quick escape.



Behaviorally, squids exhibit <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-unlock-the-light-bending-secrets-of-squid-skin/">sophisticated camouflage</a> through chromatophores - pigment-filled cells controlled by the nervous system - that allow them to change color almost instantly. Some species also display bioluminescence via symbiotic bacteria or light-producing organs.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-studying-squids-with-fossil-rocks">Studying squids with fossil rocks</h2>



The research shows that squids were already dominant ocean predators 100 million years ago. This changes what scientists believed about life in ancient seas.



The team used a new technique to scan <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/living-baby-colossal-squid-captured-on-video-for-the-first-time-ever/">fossil</a> rocks. They fully digitized the rocks in 3D without breaking them open. This helped them find over 1,000 fossilized beaks of ancient cephalopods. 



Out of these, 263 were from squids. About 40 of those belonged to species that scientists had never seen before.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-squids-rarely-leave-fossils">Squids rarely leave fossils</h2>



Squids have soft bodies that decay quickly after death. Unlike animals with bones or shells, they leave behind very little for scientists to find. 



This makes it hard to trace their history through fossils. However, squids have tough beaks, which they use like jaws to catch and eat prey. These beaks are strong enough to survive over millions of years in rock.



Cephalopods, the group that includes squids, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/octopuses-could-dominate-earth-if-humans-vanish/">octopuses</a>, and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/cuttlefish-have-passed-marshmallow-test-designed-for-kids-proving-cephalopods-intelligence/">cuttlefish</a>, have existed for about 500 million years. But it’s been difficult for scientists to figure out exactly when squids first appeared and how they changed over time.



Because full squid <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/new-species-of-deep-sea-squid-discovered-that-broods-giant-eggs/">fossils</a> are rare, researchers have had limited evidence to work with. This study changes that. 



By finding hundreds of ancient squid beaks in 100-million-year-old rocks, scientists now have solid proof that squids were already present and had formed many different species. It fills in a major gap in our understanding of their ancient history.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ancient-squids-dominated-the-ocean">Ancient squids dominated the ocean</h2>



The researchers found more squid fossils than those of ammonites and bony fish. That came as a surprise. Ammonites had shells and were thought to be the most successful swimmers of the Mesozoic era.



“In both number and size, these <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/squid-mating-tactics-are-determined-by-birth-date/">ancient</a> squids clearly prevailed the seas,” said Dr. Shin Ikegami of the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Hokkaido University, the study’s first author. 



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/squids_dominated-oceans_100-million-years-ago_grinding-tomography_Ikegami_1m.jpg"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/squids_dominated-oceans_100-million-years-ago_grinding-tomography_Ikegami_1s.webp" alt="The digital fossil-mining method utilizes grinding tomography to create digitized rocks and reveal hidden fossils within them. Credit: Ikegami et al., Science" class="wp-image-1975747"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">The digital fossil-mining method utilizes grinding tomography to create digitized rocks and reveal hidden fossils within them. Click image to enlarge. Credit: Ikegami et al., Science</figcaption></figure>



“Their body sizes were as large as fish and even bigger than the ammonites we found alongside them. This shows us that squids were thriving as the most abundant swimmers in the ancient ocean.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-modern-squids-in-ancient-oceans">Modern squids in ancient oceans</h2>



The study found that <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myopsida" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Myopsida</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oegopsida" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Oegopsida</a> squids existed 100 million years ago. These two groups are still present today. Myopsida live near the shore. Oegopsida live in the open ocean.



Earlier theories suggested ancient squids evolved rapidly after the extinction of the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/where-did-dinosaurs-come-from-missing-fossils-hold-the-secret/">dinosaurs</a>. That extinction happened 65 million years ago. But this study shows squids had already diversified long before that event.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-early-apex-hunters">Early apex hunters</h2>



Associate Professor Yasuhiro Iba of the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at <a href="https://www.global.hokudai.ac.jp" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Hokkaido University</a> led the study.



“These findings change everything we thought we knew about marine ecosystems in the past,” said Iba. “Squids were probably the pioneers of fast and intelligent swimmers that dominate the modern ocean.”



The new fossil data shows that squids had already taken important roles in the ocean. They were not just survivors. 



They were already key predators in their ecosystems. Their numbers, size, and early diversity support that conclusion.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-rethinking-ocean-evolution">Rethinking ocean evolution</h2>



Squids are among the most active, adaptable, and intelligent invertebrates living in today’s oceans. They use complex behaviors, advanced movement, and sharp sensory skills to survive in both coastal and deep-sea environments. 



Because of their importance in modern <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fishing-removes-key-nutrients-from-marine-ecosystems/">marine ecosystems</a>, understanding their origins can help scientists piece together the long history of ocean life.



By studying when ancient squids first appeared and how they spread into different habitats, researchers can trace the development of major evolutionary traits. These include fast swimming, hunting techniques, and even early signs of intelligence. 



Such insights also offer a clearer picture of how ancient marine ecosystems functioned and how they changed over time.



This new study provides strong evidence that many squid species were already established and thriving 100 million years ago - long before the mass extinction that ended the age of dinosaurs. 



Their presence was not small or recent. Instead, they played a major role in shaping ocean life far earlier than we previously believed.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adu6248" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Science</a>.



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Squids dominated ancient oceans 100 million years ago

When we imagine the ancient oceans, we often picture massive...

NASA’s Mars Curiosity rover recently arrived at a fresh patch of terrain filled with unusual rock formations. Known as “boxwork patterns,” these criss-crossing ridges are unlike anything previously seen on the Red Planet - and Curiosity is now getting its first close-up look.



The new images and data are raising big questions about what was happening on Mars billions of years ago. 



Once home to rivers, lakes, and maybe even an ocean, Mars eventually lost its surface water and became the frozen desert we know today. However, the new findings suggest that water may have lingered below ground even after surface lakes had vanished.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-digging-into-the-ridges-on-mars">Digging into the ridges on Mars</h2>



Scientists at the <a href="https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/">Jet Propulsion Laboratory</a> (JPL) have been studying these boxwork patterns in Gale Crater - the rover's landing site and longtime exploration zone.



By the time this region formed, the lakes at <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/gale-crater-reveals-secrets-of-water-on-mars/">Gale Crater</a> were long gone. But the new evidence shows that groundwater was still flowing. 



The rover discovered short, intersecting ridges arranged in a box-like pattern - the kind geologists believe form when minerals build up in rock fractures as water trickles through them. 



Over time, Mars' wind eroded the softer rock around these mineral-filled cracks, leaving behind the hardened, cement-like ridges.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-mystery-of-mars-ridges">The mystery of Mars' ridges</h2>



The ridges, which resemble broken curbs, stretch for miles along the slopes of Mount Sharp - a three-mile-high mountain <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mars-curiosity-rover-finds-sulfur-crystals-martian-rock-hints-at-possible-life/">Curiosity</a> has been climbing since 2014.



According to Curiosity project scientist Ashwin Vasavada, a big mystery is why the ridges were hardened into these big patterns - and why only here?



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://d2pn8kiwq2w21t.cloudfront.net/original_images/PIA26558-Curiosity_Views_a_Fractured_Boxwork_Ridge_Up_Close.png" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/mars_curiosity-rover_boxwork-region_low-ridge_NASA_1s.webp" alt="NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover viewed this low ridge, which looks a bit like a crumbling curb, on May 16. Scientists think the hardened edges of such ridges — part of the boxwork region the rover is exploring — may have been formed by ancient groundwater. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS" class="wp-image-1975783"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover viewed this low ridge, which looks a bit like a crumbling curb, on May 16. Scientists think the hardened edges of such ridges — part of the boxwork region the rover is exploring — may have been formed by ancient groundwater. Click image to enlarge. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS</figcaption></figure>



“As we drive on, we’ll be studying the ridges and mineral cements to make sure our idea of how they formed is on target," noted Vasavada.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-mars-story-written-in-layers">Mars' story written in layers</h2>



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mars-vanishing-water-mystery-new-insights-curiosity-rover/">Mount Sharp</a> is built from layers of rock, each one telling a story from a different period of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/was-mars-past-climate-supportive-of-life/">Mars' climate</a>. As Curiosity climbs, it’s effectively traveling through time - from older, wetter conditions at the bottom to drier periods near the top. 



The rover is now in a layer rich in magnesium sulfates, salty minerals that form as water evaporates. That suggests this part of the mountain formed during a drying phase - but then Mars threw scientists another curveball.



The bedrock between the boxwork ridges has a different chemistry than other parts of Mount Sharp. It also contains small cracks filled with bright white streaks of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/clues-beneath-mars-surface-reveal-possible-habitats-for-ancient-life/">calcium sulfate</a> - another salty mineral left behind by water. 



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://d2pn8kiwq2w21t.cloudfront.net/original_images/PIA26560-Curiosity-Views-small.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/mars_curiosity-rover_boxwork-region_low-ridge_panorama_NASA_1s.webp" alt="NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover captured this scene while looking out across a region filled with boxwork patterns, low ridges that scientists think could have been formed by groundwater billions of years ago. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS" class="wp-image-1975785"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover captured this scene while looking out across a region filled with boxwork patterns, low ridges that scientists think could have been formed by groundwater billions of years ago. Click image to enlarge. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS</figcaption></figure>



These calcium sulfate veins had been common in older, clay-rich layers farther down the mountain. But they hadn’t been seen in this sulfate-rich area until now.



“That’s really surprising,” said Curiosity deputy project scientist Abigail Fraeman. “These calcium sulfate veins used to be everywhere, but they more or less disappeared as we climbed higher up Mount Sharp. The team is excited to figure out why they’ve returned now.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-looking-for-signs-of-past-life">Looking for signs of past life</h2>



To get to the bottom of this, Curiosity drilled a rock called “Altadena” on June 8. The powder from the drill was dropped into instruments inside the rover for detailed analysis. 



The scientists want to know more about the chemical makeup of this strange terrain and how it compares to older layers.



The team also plans to drill more samples from areas with larger boxwork patterns. These samples might contain traces of organic molecules or other signs of past life, preserved in the mineral cement.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-using-earth-s-driest-places-to-map-mars">Using Earth’s driest places to map Mars</h2>



Curiosity isn’t just collecting data. It’s also renaming its map. Every area the rover explores gets nicknames to help scientists track features. 



So far, those names were drawn from places near JPL in Southern California. The “<a href="https://www.earth.com/image/explosive-wildfires-in-california-fueled-by-hurricane-force-winds/">Altadena</a>” rock, for example, is named after a nearby town that suffered wildfire damage earlier this year.



<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/H5z32E7uaKM
</div></figure>



But now that Curiosity has moved into a new area of its Martian journey, the naming theme has changed. The team is picking names from Bolivia’s Salar de Uyuni - Earth’s largest salt flat - and parts of Chile’s <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/the-amazon-is-the-main-source-of-rain-in-the-atacama-desert/">Atacama Desert</a>. 



These are some of the driest places on Earth and are often studied by astrobiologists as analogs to Mars.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-new-questions-about-mars-past">New questions about Mars' past</h2>



There are still more questions than answers. Why do the boxwork patterns only appear here? Why have calcium sulfate veins reappeared at this elevation? And what can these mineral fingerprints tell us about water's last days on Mars?



Curiosity is slowly working its way through these puzzles. With every new sample, image, and ridge, we get a little closer to understanding what Mars was - and maybe what it could have supported.



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Mysterious ridges on Mars hint at an unexpected past

NASA’s Mars Curiosity rover recently arrived at a fresh patch...

Evolution is taking an unexpected turn on the volcanic islands of the western Galápagos. Wild tomato plants are producing a toxic blend of chemicals that hasn't existed in their species for millions of years. 



Somehow, these plants have started making molecules more like eggplants than the modern tomato. This bizarre twist in evolution is being studied by scientists at the <a href="https://www.ucr.edu/">University of California, Riverside</a>. 



The research team describes this phenomenon as a rare case of “reverse evolution.” That term raises eyebrows in the world of biology, where evolution is typically seen as a one-way street - not a boomerang.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tomato-evolution-in-reverse">Tomato evolution in reverse</h2>



Normally, evolution moves forward, adapting organisms to current conditions. The idea that it can <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ferns-evolving-backward-a-new-look-at-the-evolution-of-life/">loop back</a> and restore long-lost traits isn’t just controversial - it’s considered highly unlikely. 



Even when organisms regain something similar to an ancestral trait, they almost never do it through the exact same genetic route. But that’s what these Galápagos <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/tomatoes-have-a-molecular-trick-to-survive-in-extreme-heat/">tomatoes</a> seem to be doing.



“It’s not something we usually expect,” said Adam Jozwiak, a molecular biochemist at UC Riverside and lead author of the study. “But here it is, happening in real time, on a volcanic island.”



The tomatoes aren’t just making alkaloids - bitter chemicals that many nightshade plants, like <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/crops-of-the-future-potatoes-that-thrive-in-heatwaves/">potatoes</a> and eggplants, produce for defense - they’re making an ancient version of them. And these aren't the same ones found in cultivated tomatoes today.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-chemical-clue-from-the-past">A chemical clue from the past</h2>



The team collected over 30 tomato samples from across the Galápagos. On the eastern, older islands, tomatoes made the expected modern <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/study-reveals-how-pollinators-evade-plant-toxins/">alkaloids</a>. 



But on the younger, rockier western islands, something had changed. Those plants were producing a different form of the molecule - one with a structure seen only in distant tomato ancestors and still present in eggplant relatives.



The reason? A small tweak in enzyme chemistry. Specifically, four amino acid changes in one enzyme flipped the way the plant built its alkaloid molecule.



Two molecules can have the same atoms but act completely differently depending on how those atoms are arranged. In this case, that small change meant the difference between modern and ancient chemistry.



To test the idea, the researchers re-created the enzyme genes in the lab and inserted them into <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/tobacco-and-zinnia-can-thrive-in-polluted-land/">tobacco plants</a>. As a result, the tobacco plants started making the ancestral alkaloids, just like the western island tomatoes.



“Our group has been working hard to characterize the steps involved in alkaloid synthesis, so that we can try and control it,” Jozwiak said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-nature-s-harsh-conditions-may-be-the-trigger">Nature's harsh conditions may be the trigger</h2>



Why is this happening? The researchers think the backward direction of tomato evolution has to do with the islands themselves.



The eastern islands are older, more stable, and have richer ecosystems. The western ones are newer, harsher, and less developed. The plants there may be responding to tougher conditions by falling back on an older, stronger chemical defense.



“It could be that the ancestral molecule provides better defense in the harsher western conditions,” Jozwiak said.



To make sure this was a true throwback, the team ran evolutionary modeling using modern DNA to reconstruct what ancient tomato ancestors might have looked like. The chemistry of today’s western island tomatoes matched those early models.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-is-reverse-evolution-real">Is reverse evolution real?</h2>



Referring to this phenomenon in Galápagos tomatoes as "reverse evolution” is a bold claim. There are other examples in nature - snakes regaining limbs, bacteria flipping traits - but they’re rare. This case stands out because the genetic and chemical steps are so precise and clearly documented.



“Some people don’t believe in this,” Jozwiak said. “But the genetic and chemical evidence points to a return to an ancestral state. The mechanism is there. It happened.”



And this shift isn’t just interesting for botanists. It has wider implications for other species - possibly even humans.



“I think it could happen to humans,” noted Jozwiak. “It wouldn’t happen in a year or two, but over time, maybe, if environmental conditions change enough.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-reverse-evolution-as-a-survival-strategy">Reverse evolution as a survival strategy</h2>



The study opens a window into how flexible evolution might be. Traits we thought were gone forever may just be dormant, waiting for the right conditions to reappear.



“If you change just a few amino acids, you can get a completely different molecule,” Jozwiak said. “That knowledge could help us engineer new medicines, design better pest resistance, or even make less toxic produce. But first, we have to understand how nature does it. This study is one step toward that.”



What’s growing on the rocky edges of the Galápagos isn’t just wild tomato - it might be a preview of how life, under pressure, rewrites its own rules.



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-59290-4">Nature Communications</a>.



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Reverse evolution? These wild tomatoes are turning back time

Evolution is taking an unexpected turn on the volcanic islands...

When it comes to exploring Mars, the surface is just the beginning. That’s why NASA’s Perseverance rover is doing more than just collecting core samples. It’s also grinding into Martian rocks to uncover secrets buried just beneath the dusty surface.



On June 3, Perseverance got to work on a stubborn rock the team has named “Kenmore.” The rover scraped away part of the surface, cleared off the debris, and took a closer look at what was inside. 



With its sophisticated set of tools, the rover examined the rock’s minerals and geological features. Kenmore is the 30th rock to be studied this way, starting with a two-inch-wide abrasion patch.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-digging-deeper-into-a-difficult-rock">Digging deeper into a difficult rock</h2>



Professor Ken Farley, a noble gas isotope geochemist at <a href="https://www.caltech.edu/">Caltech</a>, is the deputy project scientist for the Perseverance mission. He noted that Kenmore was "a weird, uncooperative rock."



“Visually, it looked fine - the sort of rock we could get a good abrasion on and perhaps, if the science was right, perform a sample collection," said Professor Farley. 



"But during abrasion, it vibrated all over the place and small chunks broke off. Fortunately, we managed to get just far enough below the surface to move forward with an analysis.”



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/mars-perseverance-rover_abrading-drill-bit_NASA_1m.jpg"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/mars-perseverance-rover_abrading-drill-bit_NASA_1s.webp" alt="Perseverance’s gold-colored abrading bit takes center stage in this image of the rover’s drill taken by the Mastcam-Z instrument on Aug. 2, 2021, the 160th day of the mission to Mars. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS" class="wp-image-1975772"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Perseverance’s gold-colored abrading bit takes center stage in this image of the rover’s drill taken by the Mastcam-Z instrument on Aug. 2, 2021, the 160th day of the mission to Mars. Click image to enlarge. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS</figcaption></figure>



Scientists are especially interested in getting past the outermost layers of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/some-mars-rocks-contain-signs-of-life-scientists-call-to-bring-them-back-to-earth/">Martian rocks</a>, which are weathered and coated with dust. 



Grinding helps expose the unaltered interior, giving a clearer picture of what the rock is made of. It also leaves behind a flat patch, perfect for close-up inspection with the rover’s instruments.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-new-approach-to-cleaning-mars-rocks">New approach to cleaning Mars rocks</h2>



Previous Mars missions like <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mars-spirit-and-opportunity-rovers-celebrate-20-years-on-the-red-planet/">Spirit and Opportunity</a> used spinning grinders with brushes to clean off rock surfaces. NASA’s <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mars-curiosity-rover-finds-sulfur-crystals-martian-rock-hints-at-possible-life/">Curiosity rover</a> used wire bristles to sweep away dust. But Perseverance is taking a cleaner and more efficient approach. 



Instead of brushes, Perseverance uses the gaseous Dust Removal Tool, or gDRT. It shoots out a blast of nitrogen gas to clear away debris left behind after grinding.



“We use Perseverance’s gDRT to fire a 12-pounds-per-square-inch (about 83 kilopascals) puff of nitrogen at the tailings and dust that cover a freshly abraded rock,” said Kyle Kaplan, a robotic engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. 



“Five puffs per abrasion - one to vent the tanks and four to clear the abrasion. And gDRT has a long way to go. Since landing at Jezero Crater over four years ago, we’ve puffed 169 times. There are roughly 800 puffs remaining in the tank.”



The gDRT is especially useful because it doesn’t touch the rock, which avoids the risk of bringing Earth contaminants into the mix.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-closer-look-with-high-tech-tools">Closer look with high-tech tools</h2>



Once the dust is blown away, Perseverance gets to work using a set of advanced sensors. A camera called WATSON takes close-up images from the rover’s robotic arm. 



Then, from its mast, the SuperCam begins firing thousands of tiny laser pulses at the abraded area. Each laser shot kicks up microscopic particles, which are analyzed by a spectrometer.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/mars-perseverance-rover_kenmore-rock_tool-marks_NASA_1m.jpg"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/mars-perseverance-rover_kenmore-rock_tool-marks_NASA_1s.webp" alt="This close-up view of an abrasion showing distinctive “tool marks” created by the Perseverance’s abrading bit was acquired on June 5. The image was taken from approximately 2.76 inches (7 centimeters) away by the rover’s WATSON imager. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS" class="wp-image-1975775"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">This close-up view of an abrasion showing distinctive “tool marks” created by the Perseverance’s abrading bit was acquired on June 5. The image was taken from approximately 2.76 inches (7 centimeters) away by the rover’s WATSON imager. Click image to enlarge. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS</figcaption></figure>



“SuperCam made observations in the abrasion patch and of the powdered tailings next to the patch,” said team member Cathy Quantin-Nataf from the University of Lyon in France. 



“The tailings showed us that this rock contains clay minerals, which contain water as hydroxide molecules bound with iron and magnesium - relatively typical of ancient Mars clay minerals. The abrasion spectra gave us the chemical composition of the rock, showing enhancements in iron and magnesium.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-not-all-mars-rocks-are-created-equal">Not all Mars rocks are created equal</h2>



The SHERLOC and PIXL instruments also studied Kenmore. They backed up SuperCam’s findings and added something new. 



The tools detected feldspar - a mineral known for its bright appearance on the Moon. More notably, PIXL spotted a manganese hydroxide mineral. It’s the first time this kind of material has been found during the mission.



Now that Perseverance has wrapped up its work on Kenmore, the rover is heading off to explore more areas along the edge of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/lake-sediments-found-in-jezero-crater-hint-at-past-life-on-mars/">Jezero Crater</a>.



“One thing you learn early working on Mars rover missions is that not all Mars rocks are created equal,” said Farley. "The data we obtain now from rocks like Kenmore will help future missions so they don’t have to think about weird, uncooperative rocks."



"Instead, they’ll have a much better idea whether you can easily drive over it, sample it, separate the hydrogen and oxygen contained inside for fuel, or if it would be suitable to use as construction material for a habitat.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-breaking-records-on-the-red-planet">Breaking records on the Red Planet</h2>



On June 19 - mission day 1,540 - <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/perseverance-rover-finds-best-evidence-yet-life-on-mars-cheyava-falls-rock/">Perseverance</a> set a new personal record. It traveled 1,348 feet (411 meters) in a single autonomous drive. That’s about 210 feet more than its previous record from April 2023.



While the science team selects the general path, the rover often drives itself using a system called AutoNav. This lets it move faster between areas of interest without waiting for every command from Earth.



“Perseverance drove 4½ football fields and could have gone even farther, but that was where the science team wanted us to stop,” said Camden Miller, a rover driver for Perseverance at JPL. “And we absolutely nailed our stop target location." 



"Every day operating on Mars, we learn more on how to get the most out of our rover. And what we learn today future Mars missions won’t have to learn tomorrow.”



To see more images and video of the <a href="https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasas-perseverance-rover-scours-mars-for-science/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">"Kenmore rock" on Mars, click here...</a>



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Uncovering the hidden story of Mars, one rock at a time

When it comes to exploring Mars, the surface is just...

We know the oceans are changing. But how have they changed over the last half-billion years? Until now, we had no clear measure of how the total mass of ocean life - not just its variety - has evolved over deep time. 



In a first-of-its-kind effort, scientists from <a href="https://www.stanford.edu/">Stanford University</a> measured how the biomass of marine organisms - the actual amount of living material in the ocean - has changed over the last 540 million years.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-long-term-changes-in-ocean-life">Long-term changes in ocean life</h2>



The study shows a long-term trend of rising <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/deforestation-causes-biomass-loss-beyond-directly-affected-areas/">biomass</a>, with noticeable crashes during major extinction events. This pattern closely tracks with known increases in marine biodiversity, suggesting a deep link between how much life the ocean holds and how varied that life is.



Study lead author Pulkit Singh is a postdoctoral scholar in Earth and Planetary Sciences in the <a href="https://sustainability.stanford.edu/">Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability</a>.



“Understanding the amount of biomass is important because it represents key traits about an ecosystem that are not captured by the number of species or even the number of niches that they fill,” said Singh.



“But as we move into the past, our measurements of biomass are very limited, so that was the big gap in biological history we wanted to fill with our study.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ocean-life-changes-across-history">Ocean life changes across history</h2>



Getting to this result took years of meticulous work. Singh and his team dug into data from over 7,700 marine limestone samples spanning hundreds of millions of years. 



The samples came from more than 100 published studies and Singh’s own data collection. Each rock was cut and polished into slices thin enough for light to pass through, then examined under a microscope. 



Using a method called petrographic point-counting, the researchers calculated what percentage of each sample was made up of skeletal remains - <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fossilized-shells-can-help-predict-the-impacts-of-climate-change/">shells</a> from animals, certain algae, and single-celled protists.



It’s not just busywork. The amount of shell material in these rocks tells scientists how much living material existed at different points in Earth’s history. 



More shells in the ocean generally mean more <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/all-living-things-emit-a-subtle-glow-that-ceases-at-death/">living things</a>. And more life usually means more energy flowing through ecosystems - a strong signal of planetary health.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-challenge-of-measuring-biomass">The challenge of measuring biomass </h2>



Tracking <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/global-biodiversity-crisis-is-actually-worse-than-we-thought/">biodiversity</a> through deep time has been part of science since the 19th century. But measuring biomass - the total amount of living material - is a much rarer effort. 



Measuring biomass demands massive amounts of data and offers no guarantee of a clear pattern.



“The first quantitative effort to document and graph biodiversity across geological time was made in 1860, but until Pulkit’s paper, there’s never been a corresponding biomass-across-time paper,” noted senior study author Professor Jonathan Payne. 



“I’m impressed by his intellectual courage to go and take a chance on a project like this.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-biomass-over-millions-of-years">Biomass over millions of years</h2>



The earliest rocks examined, from the Cambrian period about 540 million years ago, showed low shell content - under 10 percent on average. 



By the Ordovician, starting around 485 million years ago, shell percentages rose. This increase lines up with the Cambrian Explosion, a period when life rapidly diversified.



Early on, sponges were major players. Later, they were overtaken by echinoderms (ancestors of starfish) and arthropods like trilobites. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-gradual-increase-in-biomass">A gradual increase in biomass </h2>



Over the next 230 million years, shell content stayed mostly above 20 percent, aside from big dips during <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/marine-life-became-strangely-uniform-after-earths-worst-mass-extinction/">mass extinctions</a>.



One of the sharpest declines came during the Permian-Triassic extinction about 250 million years ago - the “Great Dying.” Shell material dropped to just 3 percent. 



Life rebounded after that, although smaller setbacks followed during the end-Triassic and the well-known Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction 66 million years ago.



In our current era - the Cenozoic - shell volume climbed above 40 percent, boosted by creatures like mollusks and corals. “The overall pattern that we were able to capture is that it’s a gradual increase,” Singh said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-consistent-biological-patterns">Consistent biological patterns </h2>



The team knew they had to rule out alternative explanations. Maybe shell-boring predators were less common in the past. Maybe certain environments were overrepresented in the data. 



To check, the researchers sorted samples by depth, latitude, and geological setting. The trend held steady.



“The more tests we did and the more we divided our dataset, we realized that these big biological patterns we were seeing stayed over time,” Singh said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-did-ocean-life-keep-growing">Why did ocean life keep growing?</h2>



The answer may come down to diversity. As life evolved to fill more ecological roles, it got better at using available energy. Organisms became more specialized, more interconnected. 



That allowed ecosystems to recycle nutrients more efficiently - from sunlight-eating phytoplankton to decomposers returning nutrients to the cycle.



“The overall idea is that there is more food available in ecosystems and because of that, the ecosystems can support more life, there’s more energy available, and that leads to greater abundance expressed in biomass,” Singh said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-humans-are-rapidly-changing-ocean-life">Humans are rapidly changing ocean life</h2>



The study paints a long view of life’s upward climb, but it ends before the modern age. Today’s oceans face threats from overfishing, pollution, acidification, and climate change. 



Researchers agree - we’re already in the middle of a human-caused sixth mass extinction. And if biodiversity keeps falling, we may see long-term drops in biomass too - with effects that could last millions of years.



“From our study’s perspective, modern times are quite complicated given the extent of human activity that’s rapidly altering conditions planetwide, including in the oceans,” said Payne. 



“But our findings show that overall biomass is linked to biodiversity and that losses in biodiversity may suppress productivity for geologically meaningful intervals, adding one more argument of why conserving biodiversity is essential for the health of humans and our planet.”



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0960982225007353">Current Biology</a>.



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Fossils reveal 500 million years of changes in ocean life

We know the oceans are changing. But how have they...

We often think we’re aware of everything around us, but our brains are constantly deciding where to focus.



Think about walking down a busy street. You might glance at a flashy car or a bright advertisement. But when it comes time to cross the street, those distractions vanish. Instead, your brain zooms in on the walk signal, moving vehicles, and people nearby.



That switch in focus - how we go from being drawn to attention-grabbing sights to zoning in on a specific task - has puzzled scientists for years.



Researchers at <a href="https://www.yale.edu/">Yale University</a> wanted to understand not just what grabs our <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/words-like-this-and-that-direct-attention-across-languages/">attention</a>, but how we shift it toward things that really matter in the moment.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-the-brain-chooses-to-see">What the brain chooses to see</h2>



Most attention research looks at what draws our eyes - a sudden movement, a bold color, or something new. But this study focused on something different: what happens when our attention is deliberately steered toward a goal.



“We have a limited number of resources with which we can see the world,” said Ilker Yildirim, assistant professor of psychology in Yale’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences and senior author of the study. 



“We think of these resources as elementary computational processes; each <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/human-perception-changes-with-our-walking-rhythm/">perception</a> we experience, such as the position of an object or how fast it’s moving, is a result of exerting some number of these elementary perceptual computations.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-brain-focuses-on-the-task-at-hand">The brain focuses on the task at hand</h2>



To explore this, the team created a model called “adaptive computation.” This system, like a mental rationing tool, allocates our perceptual resources to the things most relevant to what we're trying to do. 



If you're trying to cross a street safely, the model prioritizes the walk sign over a flashy <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/our-brain-stops-paying-attention-to-repeated-distractions/">distraction</a>.



“Our model reveals a mechanism by which human attention identifies what things in a dynamic scene are relevant to the goal at hand, and then rations perceptual computations accordingly,” said study co-author Mario Belledonne, a student in Yale’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tracking-focus-in-real-time">Tracking focus in real time</h2>



To test their ideas, the researchers ran experiments using a screen filled with colored dots. Participants were asked to track certain moving dots while ignoring others. The dots moved unpredictably, forcing people to adjust their focus constantly.



As the dots flashed briefly, participants were asked to press a key when they noticed one. This helped the researchers map how attention moved - almost second by second. 



The adaptive computation model was able to predict where and when these shifts would happen, based on which dots were more relevant to the task.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-mental-effort-involved-in-a-task">Mental effort involved in a task</h2>



In another version of the task, participants still tracked a handful of dots, but the researchers changed how many “distractor” dots appeared and how fast they moved. 



Afterward, people rated how hard the task felt. Interestingly, the model’s predictions matched the participants’ feelings: when the model worked harder to track the targets, participants said the task felt harder.



In other words, the model gave insight into something very human - the mental effort we feel when concentrating on a tough task.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-mimicking-the-brain-s-ability-to-focus">Mimicking the brain's ability to focus</h2>



One surprising takeaway from this work is how our brains selectively “ignore” things. That eye-catching car or glowing billboard? If it doesn’t help with what we’re trying to do, it might just disappear from our awareness.



“We want to work out the computational logic of the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/action-observation-network-human-brain-perception-see-what-we-expect-to-see-mind-eye/">human mind</a>, by creating new algorithms of perception and attention, and comparing the performance of these algorithms to that of humans,” Yildirim said.



This approach could even guide how we build future <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/does-the-human-brain-outperform-artificial-intelligence/">artificial intelligence</a>. Unlike current AI systems that try to absorb everything, this new model mimics how humans sometimes miss obvious things - not due to error, but because it’s a smart way to focus.



“We think this line of work can lead to systems that are a bit different from today’s AI, something more human-like,” Yildirim said. “This would be an AI system that when tasked with a goal might miss things, even shiny things, so as to flexibly and safely interact with the world.”



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2Frev0000572">Psychological Review</a>.



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How the brain decides what to focus on - and what to ignore

We often think we’re aware of everything around us, but...

A compact planet-like object has been detected in a dusty ring of debris surrounding a nearby young star. It's faint, cold, and distant from the star it orbits. If confirmed, it will be the first planet directly imaged by the James Webb Space Telescope.



The exoplanet would also be the lightest ever spotted using this method outside of our solar system.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-clues-emerge-in-infrared-light">Clues emerge in infrared light</h2>



An international research team used the Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) aboard NASA's James Webb Space Telescope to study the red dwarf star TWA 7, located just 34 light-years away. 



While analyzing the dusty disk around the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/runaway-star-j1249-36-spotted-trying-to-escape-our-milky-way-galaxy/">star</a>, the experts noticed a faint infrared object about 50 times farther from TWA 7 than Earth is from the Sun. The location matched a predicted spot where a planet could be shaping the disk’s structure.



“This observatory enables us to capture images of planets with masses similar to those in the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/distant-icy-worlds-are-unlocking-secrets-of-the-solar-system/">solar system</a>, which represents an exciting step forward in our understanding of planetary systems, including our own,” said study co-author Mathilde Malin of <a href="https://www.jhu.edu/">Johns Hopkins University</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-the-object-looks-like-a-planet">Why the object looks like a planet</h2>



To examine the object more closely, the researchers used MIRI’s coronagraph to block the bright light from the star. This allowed them to spot faint sources nearby. 



The team applied high-contrast imaging techniques to remove remaining starlight and revealed a dim, infrared signal. They ruled out other explanations, such as a passing solar system object or a background star. 



There's still a small chance it could be a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/oxygen-detected-in-the-most-distant-and-primitive-galaxy-ever-analyzed/">distant galaxy</a>, but the evidence strongly supports the idea that it’s a new planet - one that appears to be influencing the structure of the surrounding dust disk.



Study lead suitor Anne-Marie Lagrange is a CNRS researcher at the <a href="https://observatoiredeparis.psl.eu/">Observatoire de Paris-PSL</a> and Université Grenoble Alpes in France.



“Our observations reveal a strong candidate for a planet shaping the structure of the TWA 7 debris disk, and its position is exactly where we expected to find a planet of this mass,” said Lagrange.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-young-cold-planet">A young, cold planet</h2>



The object, now dubbed TWA 7 b, appears to have a mass about 0.3 times that of Jupiter - roughly equivalent to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/massive-energy-imbalance-discovered-on-saturn/">Saturn</a>. It likely has a temperature around 120 degrees Fahrenheit (47 degrees Celsius). 



The signal was found right inside a gap in the disk, suggesting an interaction between the planet and its surroundings.



TWA 7’s nearly face-on disk gave scientists a clear view. That orientation, paired with Webb’s sensitivity to mid-infrared light, made it possible to detect a planet this small and this far away.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-debris-disks-and-planet-formation">Debris disks and planet formation</h2>



Debris disks are made of dust and rocks left over from <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/planet-formation-new-insights-mechanics-physics/">planet formation</a>. They're often seen around younger stars because the disks shine brighter when they're new. 



The disks sometimes exhibit rings or gaps. Scientists have long believed these features are carved out by planets, but until now, they’ve never caught one in the act.



If TWA 7 b is indeed a planet, it would be the first time researchers have directly seen a planet inside a debris disk that appears to be shaping its structure. It might also offer a rare look at what’s called a "trojan disk" - a clump of dust stuck in a planet’s orbit.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-rare-snapshot-of-planetary-evolution">Rare snapshot of planetary evolution</h2>



TWA 7, also known as CE Antliae, is only about 6.4 million years old. That’s extremely young in cosmic terms. And because it's nearby, it gives scientists a rare opportunity to study how planetary systems take shape.



Unlike older systems, where many clues have already faded, TWA 7 offers a snapshot of planetary evolution in progress. This makes it an especially valuable target for future observation campaigns.



The team will continue observing TWA 7 to confirm whether the object is truly a planet and to better understand its characteristics. This first glimpse suggests Webb is opening new doors to studying smaller, colder planets that were previously beyond our reach.



Image Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, Anne-Marie Lagrange (CNRS, UGA), Mahdi Zamani (ESA/Webb)



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Webb telescope may have just found its first planet

A compact planet-like object has been detected in a dusty...

For 50 years, scientists believed that fish schools saved energy by swimming in diamond formations. This view, rooted in models by Weihs and Lighthill from the 1970s, shaped decades of research and robotic design. 



However, new research from <a href="https://www.princeton.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Princeton</a> and <a href="https://www.harvard.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Harvard</a> scientists turns that theory on its head. <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/small-fish-species-are-the-big-catch-of-the-future/">Fish</a> don't move in neat, flat diamonds. Instead, they prefer dynamic, three-dimensional ladders.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-new-look-at-fish-schooling-patterns">A new look at fish schooling patterns</h2>



The researchers tracked six giant danios swimming continuously for ten hours in a recirculating flow tank. They used synchronized side and bottom cameras, along with deep learning software, to collect detailed 3D data on fish positions. 



This advanced setup allowed the team to record over 260,000 frames where at least four fish were clearly visible and trackable from both views.



The findings challenged long-held assumptions about fish schooling patterns. Only 0.1% of the frames showed fish in the classical diamond formation, long thought to be the most energy efficient. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-fish-mostly-swim-in-ladders">Fish mostly swim in ladders</h2>



Instead, the fish predominantly adopted a new three-dimensional arrangement termed the ladder formation. In this pattern, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/small-fish-provide-climate-resilient-nutrition-for-a-warming-world/">fish</a> were staggered vertically, with some swimming slightly above or below others, rather than maintaining a flat side-by-side structure.



The ladder pattern appeared in 79% of fish pairings, making it by far the most common. Additionally, only 25.2% of all fish pairs swam in the same horizontal plane. This indicates that vertical positioning is a key feature of natural fish school behavior, something that earlier two-dimensional studies overlooked. 



The study reveals that fish prefer dynamic 3D arrangements that likely reduce drag without requiring precise alignment.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-the-fish-ladder-works">Why the fish ladder works</h2>



“When swimming, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-alternative-seafood-can-help-save-our-oceans/">fish</a> on average generate a jet going backward, like the jet engine of a plane,” said Hungtang Ko, lead author of the study. Staying out of that jet reduces drag.



The ladder formation allows this. A fish swims slightly above or below the one in front, avoiding the jet while still staying close. This creates energy savings similar to the diamond model but with less need for perfect timing or alignment.



The diamond model assumes fish must synchronize tail beats and stay level. But in real schools, coordination varies. Fish rarely beat tails in exact anti-phase, a condition the diamond pattern needs to be effective.



Even in controlled experiments, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fish-are-quietly-battling-climate-change-on-the-seabed/">fish</a> constantly rearranged positions. The average pattern changed every 48 seconds for individuals and 32 seconds for the whole school.



Ko’s team observed that fish ladder formations shift based on flow rate. As speed increased from 1.6 to 5.6 body-lengths per second, the fish ladder stretched longer. This adaptation resembled behavior in other biological collectives, like fire ant rafts.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tracking-fish-in-three-dimensions">Tracking fish in three dimensions</h2>



Older studies limited fish to shallow tanks or still water, forcing unnatural formations. This experiment used deeper tanks and steady flow, removing boundary effects. 



The researchers trained AI to detect nose and tail positions in 3D space using SLEAP.ai and a custom MATLAB pipeline.



According to the heatmaps, fish were most likely to swim either above and behind, or below and ahead, of a partner - never directly inline.



This ladder structure formed naturally, not by training or conditioning. It shows how real-world conditions reshape what we think of as “efficient.”



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



The Nagpal lab is designing robot fish swarms inspired by these new insights. By mimicking ladder formations, underwater robots might conserve energy, move more smoothly, and navigate better in tasks like reef monitoring.



“The collaboration is a two-way street,” said Ko. “We can use computer vision to discover how and why animal groups do things together. And then we can ask, what kind of real-world robotic system could this biological insight be applied to?”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-fish-schools-conserve-energy">Fish schools conserve energy </h2>



This study shows that energy savings don’t come from holding a perfect formation. Instead, savings come from many temporary, varied arrangements. 



Even fish that constantly shift positions still gain benefits by staying out of each other's wake.



The study also raises new questions. Can robot fish switch positions while still conserving energy? Do vertical ladders work better in turbulent water? Future experiments, especially using robotic models, may find answers.



For now, one thing is certain. Nature prefers complexity over perfection. Fish don't swim in flat diamonds. They climb invisible ladders, one body length at a time.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-025-06150-2" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Scientific Reports</a>.



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Fish swim in schools by stacking like ladder rungs

For 50 years, scientists believed that fish schools saved energy...

Climate, geology, and biology together gave rise to one of Earth’s most dramatic turning points: the Cambrian explosion. About 530 million years ago, most of the basic body plans of organisms that have survived until now emerged.



Yet a new study argues that key elements of this revolutionary event actually took shape earlier - perhaps ten-plus million years before the formal start of the Cambrian Period.



The research relies not on bones or shells, but on trace fossils - the tracks, burrows, and other imprints left by organisms as they crawled through ancient sediments.



Co-authors Olmo Miguez Salas of the <a href="https://web.ub.edu/web/ub/">University of Barcelona</a> and Zekun Wang of London’s <a href="https://www.nhm.ac.uk/">Natural History Museum</a> analyzed these subtle signatures. 



The goal was to reconstruct early animal anatomy and behavior during the Ediacaran-Cambrian transition, roughly 545 million years ago.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-fossil-traces-reveal-ancient-life">Fossil traces reveal ancient life</h2>



Traditional fossil studies skew toward creatures with hard parts, because bones and shells preserve most readily in rock. Trace fossils capture a different story: the activities of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/earths-first-animals-were-very-picky-about-where-they-lived/">soft-bodied animals</a> that rarely leave skeletal remains.



“The trace fossil record provides valuable information about evolutionary periods when soft-bodied fauna were dominant,” Miguez Salas said.



“Fossil traces reflect the behavior of the organism that generates them, which is determined by habitat and responses to environmental stimuli. Therefore, they are an indicator of the palaeoecological conditions in which the organisms that generated them lived.”



That focus is especially useful for the Ediacaran-Cambrian boundary, a time when soft-bodied organisms still outnumbered shelly ones and ecological dynamics were in rapid flux.



Early burrowers and crawlers disturbed microbial mats on the seafloor. This paved the way for new feeding strategies, novel body plans, and ultimately the hard-part explosion more familiar to paleontologists.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-fossils-show-how-life-moved">Fossils show how life moved</h2>



By quantifying the widths, lengths, and winding patterns of fossil trackways such as Archaeonassa, Gordia, Helminthopsis, and Parapsammichnites, the team derived scaling laws that link track size to the animals’ own proportions. 



The results show that organisms with streamlined, elongated profiles were already active 545 million years ago.



“These organisms probably possessed coelomic hydrostatic bodies, with an anteroposterior axis, muscles, and possibly segmentation,” Miguez Salas said.



“Furthermore, these organisms could move in a specific direction (directional <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/not-all-kangaroo-ancestors-hopped-as-a-means-of-locomotion/">locomotion</a>) and probably possessed sensory capabilities to move and feed on heterogeneous substrates in a habitat dominated by microbial mats.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-traits-predate-cambrian-explosion">Traits predate Cambrian explosion</h2>



Such abilities - directional crawling, muscular movement, possible segmentation - echo the hallmarks of bilaterian animals that dominate the modern biosphere. 



If those traits existed well before 530 million years ago, then the lineage-splitting events that scientists historically assign to the Cambrian must have roots in the late <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/591-million-years-ago-complex-life-emerged-on-earth-magnetic-field-ediacaran-period/">Ediacaran</a>.



“Therefore, the so-called Cambrian explosion and its evolutionary implications may have occurred much earlier than estimated,” Miguez Salas added.



Instead of a sudden burst, the data point toward a protracted interval of experimentation. Ecological engineering by active burrowers created niches that later organisms exploited.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-math-reveals-ancient-mobility">Math reveals ancient mobility</h2>



Until now, suggestions of pre-Cambrian complexity leaned heavily on qualitative observations - isolated sites showing possible bilateral tracks or ambiguous body impressions. What sets the new paper apart is its mathematical approach.



The authors modeled modern track size to body length, then applied that scaling framework to ancient trace fossils. The outcome is a statistically grounded estimate of early animal width, length, and locomotion speed.



“This new discovery opens the door to quantitatively study future Ediacara trace fossils and to corroborate that the explosion did not happen in the Cambrian, but many millions of years earlier,” Miguez Salas said.



The same scaling rules could probe other critical transitions, such as the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/tiny-worms-sparked-explosive-evolutionary-period-of-life-on-earth/">Great Ordovician Biodiversification Event</a>, offering a consistent yardstick for comparing evolutionary shifts across geologic time.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-fossils-shift-life-s-timeline">Fossils shift life’s timeline</h2>



If complex bilaterians were shaping seafloor habitats 545 million years ago, paleontologists must rethink long-held assumptions. Environmental and genetic triggers like <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/rewrite-the-textbooks-life-on-earth-did-not-arise-due-to-increased-oxygen-levels/">oxygen</a> rise, ocean shifts, or gene changes may need rethinking for the Cambrian proper. 



Those factors may have been in motion earlier, with the visible “explosion” marking only the point when hard parts made diversity easier to preserve.



The study also underscores how behaviors - burrowing, mat-grazing, sediment mixing - can serve as evolutionary catalysts. Mobile animals turning over sediment could have unleashed nutrients, altered <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/microbes-laid-the-foundation-for-early-life-on-earth/">microbial communities</a>, and spurred arms races that drove further innovation.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-fossils-may-still-reveal">What fossils may still reveal</h2>



Future expeditions into late Ediacaran strata may uncover additional trace fossil assemblages to test the new timeline. 



High-resolution 3D scans, geochemical proxies, and refined radiometric dating can link track-making horizons to precise ages and environmental conditions.



Meanwhile, the mathematical framework introduced by Miguez Salas and Wang equips researchers worldwide to translate faint surface scribbles into vivid portraits of Earth’s earliest movers and shakers.



In shifting the Cambrian explosion’s fuse back several million years, the fossil record reminds us that life’s history often blurs textbook boundaries. Evolution, like geology itself, tends to roll out gradually - until we gather the evidence to see its subtler steps.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/geology/article/doi/10.1130/G53332.1/655874/Quantitative-decoding-of-Ediacaran-locomotory">Geology</a>.



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Cambrian explosion: Fossils push back the rise of complex life

Climate, geology, and biology together gave rise to one of...

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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Worms dominated seas before dinosaurs

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



The full study was published in the journal Current Biology.



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Earth's oldest forest found in the United States

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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The environmental problem we actually solved

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

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

<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://youtu.be/Fi2OeEwuzRM?si=vTyd2m9FMmtyWkex
</div></figure>







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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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What to plant in your garden in mid-July

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

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

<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

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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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