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...

Some people seem better at making life choices, whether it's saving for retirement, choosing the right partner, or deciding when to seek medical help. What sets them apart? According to new research, it may be their <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/adult-thinking-skills-may-be-forged-during-our-early-infancy/">intelligence</a> quotient (IQ) and the ability to think in probabilities.



New research from the <a href="https://www.bath.ac.uk" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Bath</a> shows that people with higher IQs make fewer mistakes when predicting life events. This improves decisions, leading to better outcomes in health, wealth, and relationships.



The study was focused on data from 3,946 older adults in England. Each participant guessed their chances of living to a certain age. These guesses were then compared to national life expectancy data.



Forecast errors - meaning the difference between estimated and actual chances - were much higher among people with lower IQs. In fact, the least intelligent 2.5% made errors that were more than twice as large as those in the top 2.5%.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-iq-supports-better-decisions">How IQ supports better decisions </h2>



“Accurately assessing the probability of good and bad things happening to us is central to good decision-making,” said Chris Dawson, the study’s author and a professor of economics and behavioral science.



The study measured both IQ scores and genetic traits related to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/evolutionary-ai-can-balance-climate-goals-and-economic-progress/">intelligence</a> and education. These traits are captured by polygenic scores, which reflect a person's inherited tendency toward intelligence or educational achievement.



Smarter people not only guessed more accurately, they also showed less variation in repeated guesses. In contrast, low-IQ individuals were more inconsistent and showed wide variability when asked the same question multiple times.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-smart-minds-predict-precisely">Smart minds predict precisely</h2>



The study relied on a variety of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/first-map-of-the-brains-mitochondria-may-explain-cognitive-decline/">cognitive</a> tasks. These included memory recall, number puzzles, verbal fluency, and object naming. From these, researchers built a general IQ score, referred to as phenotypic IQ.



The team also analyzed participants’ genetics using polygenic scores. Scores for both IQ and educational attainment helped reveal how much decision accuracy could be linked to DNA.



People with a higher polygenic score for IQ made smaller errors. The same held true, though to a lesser extent, for people with higher scores for educational attainment. But genetic influences alone do not explain everything.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-low-iq-increases-inconsistency">Low IQ increases inconsistency</h2>



Forecasting errors come from two main <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ai-is-disrupting-jobs-but-countries-are-learning-to-adapt/">sources</a>: bias and noise. Bias involves consistently wrong guesses. Noise refers to inconsistent answers by the same person over time.



Low-IQ individuals performed poorly on both fronts. The average standard deviation in their repeated guesses was far higher. According to the data, those with high IQ had a standard deviation of 12.08. Those with low IQ had a deviation of 19.46.



“Probability estimation is the most important aspect of decision-making, and people who struggle with this are at a distinct disadvantage,” Dawson said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-smarter-choices-better-lives">Smarter choices, better lives</h2>



Forecasting affects daily choices like savings, retirement, and investment. Mistakes here can lead to poor financial outcomes and lower economic welfare.



Even people with high IQs make errors. However, they tend to rely more on slow, logical thinking. People with lower IQs often use mental shortcuts or respond emotionally.



Environmental factors can also throw off predictions. For example, bad weather might impact how someone judges unrelated risks. This introduces noise, which damages decision quality.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-thinking-clearly-in-uncertain-times">Thinking clearly in uncertain times</h2>



Professor Dawson suggests making information more digestible. “Explicitly stating probability estimates on information relating to health and finance could help people prone to forecasting errors to make more informed, accurate decisions,” Dawson noted.



This might include clearer labels, simplified financial tools, or personalized <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/simple-text-messages-could-help-tackle-childhood-obesity/">health messages</a>. These changes can help people make better decisions regardless of their IQ.



“IQ is already known to predict health, wealth, income, occupational status and educational attainment and this research highlights one possible channel through which people with a lower IQ do worse on all these outcomes,” he said.



Smarter predictions are not about having more facts. They are about thinking clearly and acting wisely in uncertain situations.



The study is published in the <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/fulltext/2026-26993-001.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.</a> 



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People with a higher IQ make smarter life decisions

Some people seem better at making life choices, whether it's...

Cod once ruled the Baltic Sea - massive, plentiful, and essential to the region’s fishing economy. They often stretched over a meter long and weighed up to 40 kilograms. 



Along with herring, cod once sustained industries, communities, and families. Now, they have vanished - at least in their original form. 



Catching an impressive-sized cod is a rare sight - and is no longer permitted. A ban on targeted cod fishing has been in effect since 2019, following a population collapse.



It’s not just the numbers that plummeted. Cod shrank, and the changes didn't stop at the surface level. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-fishing-pressure-rewired-a-species">Fishing pressure rewired a species</h2>



According to researchers from <a href="https://www.geomar.de/en/">GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel</a>, decades of intense fishing pressure didn’t just reduce the population - it rewired the species itself. 



The new study shows that human actions have altered the actual genetic makeup of cod in the Baltic Sea.



“Selective overexploitation has altered the genome of Eastern Baltic cod,” explains Dr. Kwi Young Han, the study’s first author. “We see this in the significant decline in average size, which we could link to reduced growth rates." 



"For the first time in a fully marine species, we have provided evidence of evolutionary changes in the genomes of a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/oceans-are-quickly-losing-ability-to-support-fish-due-to-plankton-loss/">fish population</a> subjected to intense exploitation, which has pushed the population to the brink of collapse.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-changes-in-cod-genetics">Changes in cod genetics</h2>



The study links specific genetic changes to a shift in how cod grow and reproduce. The researchers found that genetic variants tied to growth became more or less common over time - classic signs of what’s called directional selection. 



These variants weren’t random either. They matched up with known genes that influence size and reproduction.



The experts also observed changes in a particular section of the cod genome - a chromosomal inversion - that typically helps animals adapt to environmental stress. 



In this case, it followed the same <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/lifes-rules-natural-selection-change-significantly-often-daphnia/">selection</a> pattern, reinforcing that the shrinking of the cod isn’t just bad luck or poor diet. It’s evolution, triggered by how we fish.



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



To study this long-term shift, the team turned to something unusual: tiny stones in fish ears called otoliths. Like tree rings, they store growth data year by year. 



The scientists used 152 otolith samples collected from the Bornholm Basin between 1996 and 2019 - part of GEOMAR’s Baltic Sea Integrative Long-Term Data Series.



The researchers paired chemical analysis of the otoliths with high-resolution DNA sequencing. They traced how cod growth patterns and genetic traits shifted across nearly three decades of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/the-hidden-consequences-of-catch-and-release-sport-fishing/">fishing pressure</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-evolution-driven-by-human-activity">Evolution driven by human activity</h2>



The outcome? Cod that grew fast and large used to be common. Now, they’ve nearly vanished. The survivors are the ones that grow slower, mature smaller, and escape early capture.



“When the largest individuals are consistently removed from the population over many years, smaller, faster-maturing fish gain an evolutionary advantage,” noted Dr. Thorsten Reusch, head of the Marine Ecology Research Division at GEOMAR. 



“What we are observing is <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fish-evolution-takes-place-in-decades-not-millions-of-years/">evolution</a> in action, driven by human activity. This is scientifically fascinating, but ecologically deeply concerning.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cod-recovery-isn-t-guaranteed">Cod recovery isn’t guaranteed</h2>



The genetic changes found in cod aren't easily reversible. Cod that grow slowly and reproduce early might be surviving, but they’re also less productive. They mature at smaller sizes and produce fewer offspring. 



Furthermore, the genetic diversity of cod is shrinking. This diversity is crucial for helping species adapt to new conditions.



“Evolutionary change unfolds over many generations,” said Dr. Reusch. “Recovery takes far longer than decline, and it may not even be possible. This is evident in our 2025 length data from the current ALKOR cruise: despite the fishing ban, there’s no sign of a rebound in body size.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-significance-of-cod-genetics">Significance of cod genetics</h2>



This isn’t just about fish. It’s about how quickly humans can push a species to evolve in real time - and how hard it is to undo that. Genetic changes don’t bounce back when the pressure’s off. They linger, and in many cases, they stick.



“Our results demonstrate the profound impact of human activities on wild populations, even at the level of their DNA,” said Dr. Han. “They also highlight that sustainable <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/bleaching-effect-coral-loss-threatens-fisheries-and-livelihoods/">fisheries</a> are not only an economic issue, but also a matter of conserving biodiversity, including genetic resources.”



The science is clear. Overfishing doesn’t just take fish out of the sea. It leaves a permanent mark on the species. And it might have already cost us more than we can get back.



The full study was published in the journal Science Advances.



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Humans have changed the genetic makeup of cod

Cod once ruled the Baltic Sea - massive, plentiful, and...

Earlier this week, scientists and dignitaries previewed the first images from the brand new Vera C. Rubin Observatory - and it was well worth the wait. 



Soon, this scientific marvel will be delivering sweeping, ultra-detailed portraits of the universe each night.



The instrument is still in its shakedown period, but 10 hours of trial observations have already logged millions of distant <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/thousands-of-galaxies-revealed-in-a-single-webb-image/">galaxies</a>, countless Milky Way stars, and thousands of asteroids. 



This early success shows the facility is on track to become astronomy’s most prolific discovery engine.



“The NSF-DOE <a href="https://rubinobservatory.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Vera C. Rubin Observatory</a> highlights the remarkable achievements we get when the many parts of the national research enterprise work together,” said Michael Kratsios, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/ostp/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">OSTP</a>).



“The Rubin Observatory is an investment in our future, which will lay down a cornerstone of knowledge today on which our children will proudly build tomorrow.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-rubin-observatory-is-one-of-a-kind">Rubin Observatory is one-of-a-kind</h2>



Perched on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cerro_Pach%C3%B3n" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Cerro Pachón</a> in the Chilean Andes - one of the darkest, driest astronomical sites on Earth - the observatory’s 8.4-meter mirror feeds light into the largest digital camera ever built for space science.



Each night, it will capture 1,000 sky images, building the largest optical archive in astronomy history. That data will fuel the observatory’s flagship Legacy Survey of Space and Time (<a href="https://rubinobservatory.org/explore/how-rubin-works/lsst" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">LSST</a>). 



This 10-year campaign focuses on tracking every flicker, flash, and slow drift that appears in the sky.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/vera-c-rubin-observatory_first-images_Trifid-nebula_Lagoon-nebula_NSF_1m.jpg"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/vera-c-rubin-observatory_first-images_Trifid-nebula_Lagoon-nebula_NSF_1s.webp" alt="This image combines 678 separate images taken by NSF-DOE's Vera C. Rubin Observatory over just over seven hours of observing. Combining multiple images in this way clearly reveals otherwise faint or invisible details, such as the clouds of gas and dust that make up the Trifid Nebula (upper right) and the Lagoon Nebula, which are several thousand light-years from Earth. Credit: NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory" class="wp-image-1975517"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">This image combines 678 separate images taken by NSF-DOE's Vera C. Rubin Observatory over just over seven hours of observing. Combining multiple images in this way clearly reveals otherwise faint or invisible details, such as the clouds of gas and dust that make up the Trifid Nebula (upper right) and the Lagoon Nebula, which are several thousand light-years from Earth. Click image to enlarge. Credit: NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory</figcaption></figure>



“NSF-DOE Rubin Observatory will capture more information about our universe than all optical telescopes throughout history,” said Brian Stone, director of the <a href="https://www.nsf.gov/">NSF</a>.



“Through this remarkable scientific facility, we will explore many cosmic mysteries, including the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/existence-of-dark-matter-confirmed-by-new-study/">dark matter</a> and dark energy that permeate the universe.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-watching-space-for-threats">Watching space for threats</h2>



One of Rubin’s strengths is its field of view: each exposure spans 40 times the area of the full moon, making it exceptionally good at spotting fast-moving objects.



Over its first decade, astronomers expect it to catalog millions of previously unseen asteroids and comets. These include potentially hazardous objects that cross Earth’s orbit.



The same nightly scans will also produce a time-lapse map of the cosmos, catching <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/supernovae-explosions-seem-to-have-altered-earths-climate-in-the-past-and-could-do-so-again-at-any-time/">supernova explosions</a> in distant galaxies. 



The observatory will also track pulsating stars, and reveal transitory phenomena that may never have been witnessed before.



“We’re entering a golden age of American science,” said Harriet Kung, the acting director of <a href="https://www.energy.gov/science/office-science%C3%B9">DOE’s Office of Science</a>.



“NSF-DOE Rubin Observatory reflects what’s possible when the federal government backs world-class engineers and scientists with the tools to lead." 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-honoring-vera-rubin-s-legacy"><a></a>Honoring Vera Rubin’s legacy</h2>



The observatory bears the name of astronomer Vera C. Rubin, whose pioneering studies of galaxy rotation offered critical insights. 



Her work revealed the first strong evidence for dark matter, an unseen substance heavier than all normal matter combined.



Roughly 95 percent of the universe is thought to consist of dark matter and an even more enigmatic “<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dark-energy-is-ripping-the-universe-apart-but-we-arent-sure-how/">dark energy</a>” that accelerates cosmic expansion. 



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/vera-c-rubin-observatory_first-images_virgo-cluster_NSF_1m.jpg"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/vera-c-rubin-observatory_first-images_virgo-cluster_NSF_1s.webp" alt="This image captures a small section of NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory’s view of the Virgo Cluster, offering a vivid glimpse of the variety in the cosmos. Visible are two prominent spiral galaxies, three merging galaxies, galaxy groups both near and distant, stars within our own Milky Way, and much more. Credit: NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory" class="wp-image-1975519"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">This image captures a small section of NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory’s view of the Virgo Cluster, offering a vivid glimpse of the variety in the cosmos. Visible are two prominent spiral galaxies, three merging galaxies, galaxy groups both near and distant, stars within our own Milky Way, and much more. Click image to enlarge. Credit: NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory</figcaption></figure>



The Rubin Observatory will make some of the most precise measurements yet of how galaxies distribute and move, offering new clues about these invisible components.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-data-on-an-unprecedented-scale"><a></a>Data on an unprecedented scale</h2>



In its first year of regular operations, the instrument will collect more data than all previous optical observatories combined.



That torrent of information - petabytes of images and catalogs - will be processed in near-real time. Alerts will be issued to the worldwide astronomy community within 60 seconds of any detected change in the sky.



By democratizing access to its enormous dataset, Rubin Observatory will empower both professionals and citizen scientists. 



This will foster discoveries that range from mapping the structure of the Milky Way to refining the rate at which the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/universe-is-expanding-faster-than-science-can-explain-hubble-tension-physics-crisis/">universe</a> is expanding.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-space-surveys-begin-in-2025">Space surveys begin in 2025</h2>



Full science operations are scheduled to begin later this year. But early images confirm the mirror, camera, and data system are working as designed.



In the coming months, engineers will fine-tune the optics and software to help the telescope reach peak precision.



When the LSST officially starts, the observatory will scan the entire visible southern sky every three to four nights, returning again and again to build up a decade-long movie of cosmic evolution.



"This facility will drive discovery, inspire future innovators, and unleash American excellence through scientific leadership," Harriet Kung concluded.



Whether charting faint interstellar visitors or unraveling the nature of dark energy, the Rubin Observatory promises to redefine our view of the universe - and, perhaps, our place within it.



To see more of the first images and videos from the <a href="https://rubinobservatory.org/gallery/collections/first-look-gallery" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Vera C. Rubin Observatory, click here...</a>



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First images from the Vera C. Rubin Observatory are breathtaking

Earlier this week, scientists and dignitaries previewed the first images...

By the end of this century, drought conditions could leave bees with nectar that's nearly empty of calories - up to a 95% loss. That’s not just bad news for bees. It’s also bad for plants, crops, and the people who grow and rely on them.



In a more moderate future, where rainfall drops by 30 percent, nectar calories could still fall by about a third. That kind of change ripples through entire ecosystems and straight into agriculture.



The findings come from scientists at <a href="https://www.international.unesp.br/">São Paulo State University</a> (UNESP), based on research supported by FAPESP.



“In terms of calories potentially lost in the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/flowers-hear-bee-sounds-and-make-sweeter-nectar-in-response/">nectar</a>, this is equivalent to more than a ton of sugar per hectare, from 1,325 to 71 kilos. Without nectar to consume, the bees leave, the plants don’t reproduce, and the farmers lose production,” said study co-author Professor Elza Guimarães.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-rainfall-drought-and-food-for-bees">Rainfall, drought, and food for bees</h2>



The research team found that more rain can actually help nectar production. Under increased rainfall, nectar calories jumped by 74 percent. But that doesn’t mean “more rain” is always good.



“A high frequency and intensity of rainfall can have devastating consequences for plants, flower visitors such as birds and insects, and the maintenance of interactions between plants and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/wildflowers-are-self-fertilizing-to-deal-with-a-lack-of-pollinators/">pollinators</a>,” said Maria Luisa Frigero, the study’s first author, who conducted the research during her master’s program at UNESP.



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/extreme-rainfall-patterns-disrupt-rainforest-food-webs/">Rainfall</a> affects everything from how easily bees can fly, to how much energy they need to stay warm and forage, to how nutrients move through soil. Heavy rains can wash away vital nutrients, erode topsoil, and suppress pollinator activity.



"The most recent IPCC report, AR6, presents evidence that extreme events, such as intense rainfall and droughts, are becoming increasingly frequent and severe in different regions worldwide," wrote the researchers.



"On one hand, the direct effects of an excessive increase in rainfall on crop production include soil erosion and damages to crop, jeopardizing food production; on the other hand, extended periods of drought can lead to land degradation, resulting in a decrease of crop productivity."



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



The team conducted controlled experiments using <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/squash-bees-are-rapidly-spreading-around-the-world/">zucchini</a> plants, growing them in greenhouses where light, temperature, and nutrients were kept consistent. The only variable was the amount of water each group received. 



The researchers tested four different watering scenarios: one group received normal rainfall, serving as the control; another group received 30% less water; a third group got 57% more; and the final group experienced a simulated <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-a-humble-plant-may-help-us-save-crops-from-drought/">drought</a> followed by extreme rainfall.



Each group had 30 plants. In total, 120 plants were observed for 60 days. No pollinators were allowed in, ensuring precise measurement of nectar and sugar production per flower and per plant.



Even though this work focused on one species under greenhouse conditions, the researchers believe the results are representative of what could happen to other crops in natural environments.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-impact-of-drought-on-bees">The impact of drought on bees</h2>



“We’re now exploring the effects of climate change on native and cultivated plant species by testing the impact of heat waves and other extreme events," said study co-author Priscila Tunes.



"Another development of this study is the investigation of how bees react to the changes that occur in flowers in this context, by means of behavioral analyses."



Tunes and the team are pushing the research forward, not just by measuring what plants produce, but by watching how pollinators respond.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-from-nectar-to-our-plates">From nectar to our plates</h2>



This study draws a direct line from climate change to nectar, pollinators, and food production. It shows how changes in rain patterns - something as simple as more or less water - can ripple outward into big, visible consequences.



And it raises real questions for the future: What happens if flowers stop feeding bees? Who will pollinate the plants? And what will we do when the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mixed-cover-crops-may-be-the-future-of-sustainable-farming/">crops</a> don’t come?



"Animal pollination is responsible for most plant species’ reproduction including several crops that rely especially on bees for fruit and seed production," wrote the researchers.



"Thus, extreme climate events can cause disruptions in pollination mutualism and lead to a decrease in the production of many crops worldwide."



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-025-94565-2">Scientific Reports</a>.



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How droughts could starve bees and crops

By the end of this century, drought conditions could leave...

Sometimes insight strikes out of the blue - often after a nap. Now, researchers have put this brain-sleep connection to the test. In a study published in the journal PLOS Biology, Anika Löwe and her team explored how different stages of sleep influence problem-solving breakthroughs.



The researchers found that a short nap, especially one deep enough to enter N2 sleep, increases the odds of having an "aha" moment. 



The study experiment included a perceptual task with a hidden trick. Most participants started with one strategy. But the clever ones found an easier route - often after taking a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sleep-prepares-the-brain-for-the-future-while-protecting-memories-of-the-past/">nap</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-sleep-sparks-creative-insight">Sleep sparks creative insight</h2>



The study involved 90 participants aged 18 to 35. After learning the rules of a visual dot-tracking task, they were asked to rest. During this break, EEG machines monitored their brain <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sleep-quality-could-be-the-key-to-better-metabolic-health/">activity</a>. Participants were grouped into wake, N1, or N2 sleep categories.



The task, called the Perceptual Spontaneous Strategy Switch Task (PSSST), included a hidden rule. Initially, participants responded based on dot movement. Later, without warning, color also predicted correct answers. Discovering this shortcut marked the insight.



Only 70.6% of participants reached this insight. But N2 sleepers stood out. 85.7% of them figured it out. The wake group reached 55.5%, and the N1 group landed at 63.6%.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-deep-sleep-and-brain-insights">Deep sleep and brain insights</h2>



The real twist came with EEG analysis. Researchers examined the brain's spectral slope, a marker of aperiodic activity. 



A steeper slope means less background noise and deeper sleep. This steep slope correlated with more frequent insights, especially over fronto-central brain regions.



Surprisingly, traditional brain wave bands like alpha and delta did not predict insight. It was not the rhythms of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/why-new-mothers-feel-exhausted-despite-getting-sleep/">sleep</a> that mattered most, but the non-rhythmic patterns. These patterns may reflect processes like synaptic downscaling, a kind of neural reset during sleep.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-sleep-may-reset-the-brain">How sleep may reset the brain</h2>



The idea is simple. During N2 sleep, weak synaptic connections are trimmed. This regularization clears mental clutter. It is like resetting a puzzle so your brain can see patterns it missed before. The team compared this to regularization in machine learning, which prevents overfitting.



“The EEG spectral slope has only recently been considered as a factor in cognitive processes during sleep," said Löwe.



"I find the link between the spectral slope steepness during <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/weekend-catch-up-sleep-benefits-teens-when-done-right/">sleep</a>, aha-moments after sleep and the down regulation of weights - which we identified as crucial for aha-moments in our previous computational work - very exciting."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-naps-and-brain-resets-feel-familiar">Naps and brain resets feel familiar</h2>



The research strikes a chord with artists and thinkers. Löwe noted that a lot of people have experienced important realizations after a short nap. 



"It’s really nice to not only have data on that, but also a first direction of what processes are behind this phenomenon."



“What really struck me when telling people in my environment - particularly creatives - about these findings was how much they resonated with people. Many of them could relate to our results with a personal experience of having a (creative) breakthrough after a nap.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-only-deep-sleep-boosts-brain-insight">Only deep sleep boosts brain insight</h2>



The results challenge earlier studies. Some found N1 sleep, the lighter stage, to support insight. But this study’s data suggest otherwise. N1 sleep did not outperform wakefulness. Only N2 made a significant difference.



Even when accounting for subjective reports and EEG scoring methods, N2 sleep remained the best predictor. 



The effect was not explained by increased alertness either. Participants in all groups performed equally well in vigilance tests before and after the nap.



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



This study opens many questions. Why does N2 sleep help so much? Can deeper sleep stages like N3 amplify the effect? How do different types of tasks respond to rest?



Löwe’s team used a visual task. Past work used math-based problems. The brain may process these differently. It is also unclear how long the nap must be. In this case, it lasted only 20 minutes.



“It’s really intriguing that a short period of sleep can help humans make connections they didn’t see before," said study co-author Nicolas Schuck.



"The next big question is why this happens. We hope that our discovery that it may be linked to the EEG spectral slope is a good first lead."



Löwe is a cognitive neuroscience researcher studying sleep, insight, and learning at&nbsp;<a href="https://www.uni-hamburg.de/en.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Universität Hamburg</a>&nbsp;and the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mpib-berlin.mpg.de/en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Max Planck Institute for Human Development</a>.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3003185" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">PLOS Biology</a>.



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Deep sleep during naps can spark insight and creativity

Sometimes insight strikes out of the blue - often after...

Carrying the first P-band synthetic-aperture radar ever flown in space, the&nbsp;European Space Agency's (ESA) Biomass satellite lifted off less than two months ago with a simple but demanding goal: to chart the trunks, branches, and stems of every forest on Earth.



By mapping that woody material, scientists can finally calculate how much <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-models-may-overestimate-how-much-carbon-trees-release/">carbon</a> the world’s trees lock away - and how those stocks shift year by year as climate and land-use pressures grow.



The spacecraft is in the early stages of commissioning, a period when engineers check every system and tweak instrument settings.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-first-biomass-satellite-images-impress">First Biomass satellite images impress</h2>



The spacecraft is in the early stages of commissioning, a period when engineers check every system and tweak instrument settings. 



Even at this stage, Biomass is producing imagery so detailed and vivid that the mission team recently revealed the first samples at <a href="https://lps25.esa.int/">ESA’s Living Planet Symposium</a>.



“As is routine, we’re still in the commissioning phase, fine-tuning the satellite to ensure it delivers the highest quality data to accurately determine how much carbon is stored in the world’s forests,” said ESA’s Biomass Project Manager, Michael Fehringer.



“Biomass is equipped with novel space technology, so we’ve been closely monitoring its performance in orbit, and we’re very pleased to report that everything is functioning smoothly." 



"Its first images are nothing short of spectacular," he said. "They’re only a mere glimpse of what is still to come.”



The agency released five forest scenes and two surprise targets - one in the Sahara Desert, another in Antarctica - that demonstrate the radar’s power.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-vivid-shots-of-amazon-forests">Vivid shots of Amazon forests</h2>



The debut frame showcases a broad swath of northern Bolivia. Hues of green signal dense <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/the-amazon-rainforest-is-approaching-widespread-collapse/">rainforest</a>, while reds highlight floodplains and wetlands, and blue-violet patches mark open savanna. 



Cutting across the tableau is the meandering Beni River as it flows from the Andes toward Brazil.



In places that have seen heavy agricultural expansion, such as Bolivia’s lowlands, thick forest has given way to farmland. Biomass will let scientists calculate how much carbon those clearances have released.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/biomass-satellite_Bolivian-forest_first-images_ESA_1m.jpg"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/biomass-satellite_Bolivian-forest_first-images_ESA_1s.webp" alt="This image from the Biomass satellite features part of Bolivia. Bolivia has experienced significant deforestation, ranking among the highest globally for primary forest loss. Although there are complex reasons at play, this is primarily driven by forest clearance for agricultural expansion. Credit: ESA" class="wp-image-1975507"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">This image from the Biomass satellite features part of Bolivia. Bolivia has experienced significant deforestation, ranking among the highest globally for primary forest loss. Although there are complex reasons at play, this is primarily driven by forest clearance for agricultural expansion. Click image to enlarge. Credit: ESA</figcaption></figure>



A companion view from the optical Sentinel-2 mission looks similar to the untrained eye, but it captures only the forest canopy. 



Biomass, by contrast, records reflections all the way to ground level, revealing the three-dimensional forest structure that is essential for precise carbon accounting.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-biomass-satellite-radar-photos">Biomass satellite radar photos</h2>



Another early pass sweeps over the Brazilian Amazon, where pink and crimson tones expose seasonally flooded forests, and deep greens outline rugged uplands.



Over Indonesia’s Halmahera Island, the radar paints lava-sculpted terrain beneath dense jungle, even pinpointing Mount Gamkonora, an active <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/earths-orbit-may-trigger-massive-volcanic-eruptions/">volcano</a>. 



Each image underlines the advantage of long-wavelength radar: it can see through leaf and branch to the landforms below.



“Looking at these first images, it’s clear to see that our Earth Explorer Biomass satellite is set to deliver on its promise,” said ESA’s Director of <a href="https://vision.esa.int/earth-observation-programmes-eop/">Earth Observation Programs</a>, Simonetta Cheli. “We fully expect that this new mission will provide a groundbreaking leap in our ability to understand Earth's forests."



"By combining cutting-edge radar technology with scientific excellence, we can unlock vital insights into carbon storage, climate change, and the health of our planet’s precious forest ecosystems."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-beneath-sand-ice-and-forests">Beneath sand, ice, and forests</h2>



Engineers designed Biomass primarily for forests, but P-band signals can penetrate up to five meters of dry sand - enough to trace buried riverbeds in deserts - and slip into ice to map glacier flow.



A striking glimpse of Chad’s Tibesti Mountains shows the radar slicing across sandy basins and ancient volcanic ridges, hinting at hidden water reservoirs that could aid arid-zone planning.



The Antarctic image is equally intriguing: despite surface snow, radar echoes outline the valleys of the Transantarctic Mountains and track the slow creep of the Nimrod Glacier toward the Ross Ice Shelf. Future data could refine models of ice-sheet stability and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-much-did-sea-levels-rise-after-the-last-ice-age-alarming-new-clues-revealed/">sea-level rise</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-repeat-views-add-dimension">Repeat views add dimension</h2>



While one-off scenes are dramatic, Biomass will make its biggest impact through repeated coverage. The satellite’s novel sampling scheme combines observations made from slightly different angles over a 200-day cycle.



With such a method, scientists can reconstruct forest height and wood volume in three dimensions, producing global biomass maps every year for at least five years.



Those maps will feed carbon-cycle models, help nations report on <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-mitigation-strategies-may-be-endangering-biodiversity/">climate mitigation</a> goals, and monitor whether conservation policies actually keep carbon in trees.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-bright-future-for-the-biomass-satellite">Bright future for the Biomass satellite</h2>



Commissioning continues through the summer: ground teams will calibrate radar pulses, validate positioning, and analyze signal-to-noise ratios. Once the mission declares full readiness, data will flow freely to researchers worldwide.



The first images suggest that Biomass has plenty more to reveal - whether it is spotlighting hidden waterways under Saharan dunes or weighing every stand of timber from the Congo Basin to Siberia.



As climate negotiators chase reliable inventories of carbon sources and sinks, ESA’s newest Earth Explorer is poised to deliver the definitive ledger for the planet’s forests, and perhaps much more besides.



To see more of the first Biomass satellite <a href="https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/FutureEO/Biomass/Biomass_satellite_returns_striking_first_images_of_forests_and_more" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">images and videos, click here...</a>



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Biomass satellite mission sends first images of Earth's most extreme environments

Carrying the first P-band synthetic-aperture radar ever flown in space,...

The machinery inside of each human cell usually behaves like a dimmer, turning genes up or down as needed. A new analysis shows that hundreds of human genes shun the dimmer and act more like a light switch, clicking fully on or off depending on the person.&nbsp;



The study was led by geneticist Omer Gokcumen at the <a href="https://www.buffalo.edu/">University at Buffalo</a>. His research reveals that this switch-like behavior may influence everything from fertility to cancer risk, depending on which genes are on or off.



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



Genes are like the body’s instruction manual, written in a language made of DNA. They tell cells how to build proteins, which do all kinds of jobs - from carrying oxygen in your blood to helping you digest food. 



Each gene is a stretch of DNA made up of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/luca-last-universal-common-ancestor-progenitor-all-life-on-earth/">four chemical letters</a> (A, T, C, and G), and the order of those letters determines what kind of protein gets made. 



It’s like a recipe: change one ingredient and you could end up with a different dish - or in this case, a different trait like curly hair instead of straight.



Things like diet, stress, or even pollution can switch certain genes on or off, without changing the DNA itself - this is what scientists call <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthpedia-articles/what-is-epigenetics/">epigenetics</a>. 



So, even if you inherit a gene linked to a certain condition, it doesn’t always mean you’ll get it. That’s why twins with the same DNA can still turn out a little different.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-light-switch-gene-mystery">The light-switch gene mystery</h2>



Early <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK26872/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">work</a> on the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/biochemistry-genetics-and-molecular-biology/lac-operon" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">lac operon</a> in <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/ecoli/about/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Escherichia coli</a> proved that a gene can be either silent or roaring, nothing in between. 



Researchers long assumed that such binary behavior was rare in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-raised-mouse-born-from-two-male-parents-to-adulthood-imprinting-genes/">humans</a> because most traits need finer control. Yet the new report argues the opposite, showing that on‑off genes are widespread and often tied to illness.



Gene expression is simply the act of reading DNA and making proteins; most genes rise and fall smoothly. <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-60513-x" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Switch‑like genes</a>, by contrast, settle into either high or low camps, with few residents in the middle.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-hundreds-of-switch-genes-discovered">Hundreds of switch genes discovered</h2>



The team mined the <a href="https://www.gtexportal.org/home/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Genotype‑Tissue Expression Project</a>, a public atlas of 943 volunteers covering 27 tissues. 



They applied a statistical “dip test” to 516,267 gene–tissue pairs and flagged 473 genes whose activity followed a crisp bimodal <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-flowers-grow-perfectly-despite-chaotic-gene-activity/">pattern</a>.



“We believe switch‑like genes could one day be used to diagnose and perhaps even treat diseases,” said Gokcumen. 



Only 40 of those genes showed on‑off states everywhere, implying <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0966842X1630066X" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">hard‑wired DNA control</a>, while the rest flipped only in certain organs.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-switch-gene-linked-to-health">Switch gene linked to health</h2>



Many of the 473 toggling genes sit at the heart of immune defense, metabolism, and cancer pathways. 



Low expression of <a href="https://www.genecards.org/cgi-bin/carddisp.pl?gene=USP32P2" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">USP32P2</a>, for instance, has been associated with male infertility, while off‑states in <a href="https://www.genecards.org/cgi-bin/carddisp.pl?gene=FAM106A" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">FAM106A</a> may blunt the body’s response to COVID‑19.



Seven switch‑like genes in vaginal tissue, including <a href="https://www.genecards.org/cgi-bin/carddisp.pl?gene=ALOX12" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ALOX12</a> and <a href="https://www.genecards.org/cgi-bin/carddisp.pl?gene=KRT1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">KRT1</a>, shut down together in some women and correlate with <a href="https://www.health.harvard.edu/a_to_z/vaginal-atrophy-atrophic-vaginitis-a-to-z" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">vaginal atrophy</a>, a postmenopausal thinning of the mucosa. 



“This coordinated silencing hints at master switches we could eventually toggle therapeutically,” noted first author <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=Ns4R9VQAAAAJ&amp;hl=en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Alber Aqil</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-hormones-switch-genes-on-or-off">Hormones switch genes on or off</h2>



The pattern of tissue‑specific switching pointed to hormones. In breast tissue, 157 of 158 switch‑like genes were far more active in women than in men, matching the estrogen-rich <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/luca-last-universal-common-ancestor-progenitor-all-life-on-earth/">environment</a>.



When systemic <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK559297/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">estrogen</a> falls after menopause, the seven atrophy‑linked genes often flip off in the vagina, leaving the epithelium fragile. 



About half of postmenopausal women experience symptoms of vaginal atrophy, yet most never seek help.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-epigenetics-plays-a-role">Epigenetics plays a role</h2>



Some switch-like genes are influenced not just by DNA or hormones but by <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/npp2012112" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">DNA methylation</a>, a chemical tag that turns genes off by altering how DNA is read. 



In tissues like the breast and prostate, researchers found a strong negative correlation between gene expression and methylation at nearby <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/neuroscience/cpg-site" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CpG sites</a>, which are common control points in the genome.



In the breast, for example, 71 switch-like genes showed this pattern, suggesting that <a href="https://link.springer.com/rwe/10.1007/978-3-642-16483-5_1944" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">epigenetic silencing</a> explains why some people have these genes off. 



That means two people with the same DNA sequence might express the gene differently depending on their epigenetic landscape, which can change over time due to age, stress, or environmental exposure.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-most-switches-are-tissue-specific">Most switches are tissue‑specific</h2>



Out of the 473 switch-like genes identified, only a small group flipped on or off in every tissue. Most behaved like switches in just one or two types of tissue, such as the breast, colon, or vagina. 



This tissue-specific pattern suggests that local conditions - like hormone levels or tissue-specific master regulators, control whether the switch flips.



Within each tissue, multiple switch-like genes tend to flip together, showing strong <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/gene-co-expression-network" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">gene-to-gene co-expression</a>. This clustering means they may be controlled by the same upstream signal. 



For instance, in the breast, several genes turned on together in females and remained off in many males, reflecting the influence of estrogen on the tissue’s gene activity.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-switch-genes-aid-diagnosis">Switch genes aid diagnosis</h2>



On‑off states make ideal biomarkers because a simple assay can sort patients into yes‑or‑no categories. <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9580661/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Topical estradiol</a>, already used for atrophy, restores vaginal pH and thickens the lining by turning many of the same genes back on.



Universal switch‑like genes, often governed by structural variants, suggest another route: DNA testing could flag individuals whose deleted or silenced <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6175939/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">USP32P2 allele</a> raises infertility risk. 



The study argues that long‑read sequencing will uncover the missing structural variants and complete the binary map.



Beyond hormones, environmental exposures may tilt genetic switches, creating a fertile ground for gene‑environment studies. 



Cataloging on‑off genes, the authors say, brings us closer to personalized medicine that treats the cause, not the symptom.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-60513-x" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature Communications</a>.



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Scientists learn that some genes are like a light switch and turn 'on' or 'off,' nothing in between

The machinery inside of each human cell usually behaves like...

When Brian Menounos stepped onto British Columbia’s Haig Glacier last summer, the ice under his crampons felt thinner than ever.



“Over the last four years, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/melting-glaciers-are-reshaping-landscapes-and-national-borders-around-the-world/">glaciers</a> lost twice as much ice compared to the previous decade,” he later warned. “Glacial melt is just falling off a cliff.”



A new study pieces together twenty-plus years of satellite images, laser surveys, and boots-on-ice measurements from the Rockies, Cascades, and Swiss Alps.



The verdict: glaciers in western Canada, the contiguous United States, and Switzerland have already surrendered roughly 12 percent of their total volume since 2021 - and the pace is accelerating.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-scientists-mapped-glacier-melt">Scientists mapped glacier melt</h2>



Menounos, a <a href="https://www.unbc.ca/">University of Northern British Columbia</a> professor and chief scientist at the <a href="https://hakai.org/">Hakai Institute</a>, led an international crew that surveyed three benchmark glaciers in western Canada, four in the U.S. Pacific Northwest, and twenty in Switzerland.



These ice structures do more than decorate postcards. They are summer water towers for farms, rivers, and hydropower; they draw hikers and skiers by the millions; and they even steady mountain slopes by gluing rock walls together.



The team combined high-resolution laser altimetry from aircraft, on-site stake readings, and thousands of satellite scenes.



Those overlapping snapshots told a consistent story: from 2021 through 2024, the monitored glaciers shed as much ice as they had during the entire previous ten years. In sheer water volume, the loss is equivalent to draining huge alpine <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/water-reservoirs-are-shrinking-and-becoming-less-reliable/">reservoirs</a> within a few melt seasons.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-dust-and-fire-darken-glaciers">Dust and fire darken glaciers</h2>



Why did melting suddenly roar ahead? Two culprits stand out. The first is heat. Early-season <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/deadly-heat-waves-in-europe-can-be-predicted-by-melting-sea-ice/">heat waves</a> have flipped the melt switch weeks ahead of schedule, scrubbing away winter snow that normally reflects sunlight and protects the ice below.



Switzerland’s record-hot summer of 2022 and western Canada’s scorching spring of 2023 gave the glaciers no time to recover. As Menounos put it, “2023 was the year of record, no question.”



The second culprit is surface darkening. Pure snow is brilliant white, bouncing most sunlight back to space. But when windblown dust or <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-is-making-wildfire-smoke-more-deadly/">wildfire</a> soot coats the surface, that reflectivity - scientists call it albedo - plummets, and the ice soaks up heat like a blacktop road.



In the Alps, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/saharan-dust-crosses-the-atlantic-a-journey-seen-from-space/">Saharan dust storms</a> tinted the snow a dull ocher. Across North America, smoke from unprecedented wildfire seasons peppered the ice with black carbon. 



At Haig Glacier, the researchers estimate that darkening by soot accounted for nearly forty percent of the melt between 2022 and 2023.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-blind-spot-in-climate-projections">A blind spot in climate projections</h2>



These albedo changes aren’t just cosmetic. They crank up melt rates beyond what temperature alone would dictate, yet most global glacier models still ignore the effect. Menounos believes that oversight is dangerous.



“If we’re thinking, Well, we have 50 years before the glaciers are gone, it could actually be 30,” he said. “So we really need better models going forward.”



Meanwhile, wildfire activity is poised to intensify under continued warming, sending ever more carbon-rich ash onto the shrinking ice. 



That feedback loop - hotter summers, bigger fires, darker glaciers, faster melt - suggests that standard forecasts may be too optimistic about how long mid-latitude ice will survive.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-melting-glaciers-reshape-landscapes">Melting glaciers reshape landscapes</h2>



Glaciers in Alaska or Greenland dominate sea-level discussions, but the mountain ice in this study plays a different yet critical role.



During late summer droughts, meltwater keeps rivers flowing, cools <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/many-young-salmon-break-the-typical-migration-rules-boosting-survival-chances/">salmon</a> habitat, and refills reservoirs that power cities from Seattle to Bern. 



As the ice retreats, that dependable trickle will shrink, leaving farms, hydro dams, and ecosystems exposed to deeper dry spells.



A faster melt-out invites hazards, too. When valley glaciers thin, steep rock faces lose their frozen mortar and can tumble into valley bottoms. Newly formed glacial lakes, dammed only by loose rubble, can burst in sudden floods.



The catastrophic debris flow in British Columbia’s Elliot Creek in 2020, linked to rapid deglaciation, hints at risks that could multiply as ice fronts march uphill.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-landscape-without-long-term-ice">A landscape without long-term ice</h2>



All of this raises a sobering question: how do communities adapt to a future with little or no perennial ice? Menounos argues that water planners, engineers, and tourism operators need to start drawing up new playbooks.



“Society needs to be asking what are the implications of ice loss going forward,” he said. “We need to start preparing for a time when glaciers are gone from western Canada and the United States.”



That might mean revisiting water-sharing agreements, fortifying infrastructure against outburst <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/flood-fatalities-experts-reveal-the-hidden-health-impacts/">floods</a>, or reinventing alpine tourism for snow-starved summers.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-warning-etched-in-melting-glaciers">A warning etched in melting glaciers</h2>



The study’s most unsettling lesson is how quickly feedbacks can compress geologic timescales into human lifetimes. A hotter atmosphere begets larger fires; those fires darken glaciers; dark ice melts at turbo speed, exposing yet more dark ice. Each loop feeds the next.



If policymakers needed a tangible example of climate acceleration, these rapidly vanishing ice fields provide it. 



The sight of a glacier “falling off a cliff” is no longer a metaphor. It is a literal snapshot of Earth’s changing face - one that may disappear from living memory far sooner than we ever imagined.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2025GL115235">Geophysical Research Letters</a>.



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Glaciers from the Rockies to the Alps are melting much faster than expected

When Brian Menounos stepped onto British Columbia’s Haig Glacier last...

Child-directed speech, also known as “baby talk,” plays a vital role in human development. Around the world, caregivers use a distinct vocal style to talk to infants. 



These modified speech patterns help young minds absorb vocabulary and structure. But how did this behavior originate? Could it have evolved from our primate ancestors?



A recent study led by researchers from the <a href="https://www.uzh.ch/en.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Zurich</a>, <a href="https://www.unine.ch" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Neuchâtel</a>, and collaborators across Europe and the U.S. offers new insights. 



The research, published in the journal Science Advances, explores whether great apes use infant-directed vocalizations like humans do.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-baby-talk-in-humans-and-apes">Baby talk in humans and apes</h2>



The team observed wild populations of bonobos, chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans. They also included data from human infants across diverse cultures: Shipibo-Konibo, Qaqet, Chintang, and Tuatschin.



To quantify communication, they analyzed vocal behavior during two-minute intervals. They categorized each instance as infant-directed, surrounding, or general vocal activity. 



They followed immature individuals closely, noting all relevant sounds from nearby group members.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-humans-use-baby-talk-way-more">Humans use baby talk way more</h2>



These results highlight how unique human caregiving behavior is compared to that of our closest relatives. Human <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-do-infants-connect-with-the-world-it-all-starts-with-the-feet/">infants</a> are surrounded by vocal input that is not only frequent but also specifically tailored to them. This level of attention likely helps them learn language faster and more efficiently.



Even when focusing only on what mothers said, humans stood out. Mothers spoke directly to their babies far more than ape mothers did. In fact, the difference between human and bonobo mothers was over 400-fold.



Most of the speech around human infants was directed at them. In contrast, great apes showed almost no such targeted communication. 



This suggests that humans may have evolved a special way of teaching language that relies heavily on speaking directly to infants.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-not-just-direct-speech">Not just direct speech</h2>



Surrounding speech refers to vocalizations that infants can hear but are not directly addressed to them. This type of input was fairly consistent across humans, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/chimpanzees-select-the-best-materials-for-termite-fishing/">chimpanzees</a>, and bonobos. 



These species likely live in more socially active environments, where infants overhear conversations or calls.



Orangutans, however, received much less surrounding speech. This fits their more solitary lifestyle, where fewer individuals are nearby to produce vocalizations.



Because infant-directed speech is rare among apes, they may depend more on what they hear in the background. This ambient input could help them learn communication patterns, even without being directly taught.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-baby-talk-helped-humans-evolve">Baby talk helped humans evolve</h2>



The data suggest a sharp evolutionary shift. “Our findings suggest that the tendency to direct vocalizations at infants... has been massively expanded in the human lineage,” the authors wrote.



One possible driver is the need to transmit learned communication. Unlike apes, human language is highly flexible and requires teaching. Infant-directed speech helps children grasp words, tone, and context more easily.



Interestingly, gestures may play a more prominent role in great apes. Repetitive <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/wild-bird-uses-wing-gestures-to-politely-say-after-you/">gestures</a> in apes mirror some features of human baby talk. These findings hint that vocal and gestural teaching modes may have evolved in parallel.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-are-humans-alone-not-quite">Are humans alone? Not quite</h2>



Other species also engage in infant-directed communication. Dolphins change pitch when around calves. Bats alter calls to suit pups. Cats and monkeys use specific sounds to call or calm infants.



However, these communications likely serve different functions, like identification or retrieval. Only in humans do these vocal patterns appear tightly linked to complex language learning.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-studying-apes-to-understand-ourselves">Studying apes to understand ourselves</h2>



The study opens up new paths. The researchers propose exploring who produces surrounding speech in ape societies, siblings, mothers, or others, and whether that affects learning.



Additionally, they call for deeper study of ape gestures directed at infants. “The gestural modality might represent an additional fruitful avenue for future work."



This research provides strong support that child-directed speech may have evolved to support <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/babies-can-naturally-learn-multiple-languages-from-birth/">language learning</a>. Our ancestors likely began with ambient communication, then shifted toward more intentional, tailored speech as language grew more complex.



By comparing the way species talk, or don’t talk, to their young, we gain a clearer view of what makes human language so powerful and so unique.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adt7718" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Science Advances</a>.



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Baby talk may explain what sets humans apart from apes

Child-directed speech, also known as “baby talk,” plays a vital...

Soft corals have been part of coral reef ecosystems for millions of years, yet scientists are only beginning to grasp how many kinds exist and where they live. Even after decades of research, large parts of reef life remain a mystery.



“A majority of the things that are out there on coral reefs are simply unknown to us or haven’t been formally described or named,” said Catherine McFadden, a professor of life sciences at <a href="https://www.hmc.edu/">Harvey Mudd College</a>.



McFadden leads a new study with an international team from Harvey Mudd College and the Florida Museum of Natural History.



It’s the largest-ever genetic survey of soft corals, built from more than 4,400 museum specimens collected over two decades. And it has fundamentally changed how scientists understand coral diversity and where it occurs.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-new-center-of-coral-life">New center of coral life</h2>



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/coral-reefs-may-be-more-resilient-than-we-thought/">Coral reefs</a> are typically richest in species in the central Indo-Pacific. That’s the Coral Triangle - Indonesia, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, and surrounding islands - a region known for its warm, shallow waters and unmatched biodiversity.



But this new study found that soft corals break that rule. They don’t have just one center of diversity - they have two.



The first overlaps with the Coral Triangle, as expected. But the second hotspot? It’s thousands of miles west, along the coasts of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/madagascar-extinctions-linked-to-human-expansion-1000-years-ago/">Madagascar</a> and Southeast Africa. Here, soft corals are just as diverse - maybe more so - than in the better-known Indo-Pacific. That’s not the case for their harder cousins.



Stony corals, which build reefs from calcium carbonate, are less common and less varied in East Africa. Soft corals are different. And this difference may hold clues to how coral ecosystems evolved, and how they’ll survive in the future.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ancient-coral-branches-split">Ancient coral branches split</h2>



Stony and soft corals both evolved from the same ancient group: Anthozoa. This group originated around 771 million years ago. Shortly after, it split into two major branches - Hexacorallia and Octocorallia. The former gave us stony corals. The latter gave us soft corals.



Their differences go far beyond skeletons. <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/study-reveals-reproductive-secrets-of-stony-corals/">Stony corals</a> have hard structures that make them easier to identify by shape. Soft corals lack these features, making them notoriously hard to tell apart.



“It is really challenging to identify them in the field. It’s a colony of very similar polyps, often with similar growth forms, and that’s about it,” said Gustav Paulay, co-author of the study and curator at the Florida Museum of Natural History.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-looks-deceive-in-soft-corals">Looks deceive in soft corals</h2>



Soft corals use water pressure to keep their shape and rely on tiny calcium structures called sclerites for support. These structures are beautiful under a microscope, but unreliable when it comes to classification.



“We call them snowflakes because every single sclerite is different,” McFadden said. “They have intricate forms. They’re hard to quantify. And we don’t have a good understanding of what makes them different.”



Once scientists began using DNA to study soft corals, it exposed major gaps in how these species had been classified. Visual identification alone had masked both hidden diversity and false differences.



“There are many cases where people thought there was a widespread species, but when we do the genetic work, it turns out it’s six or eight different things that in some cases aren’t even closely related to each other,” McFadden said. 



“We have the opposite problem as well where corals take a different growth form in some environments, but genetically, we’re not finding any differences between them.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-constant-struggle-on-the-reef">A constant struggle on the reef</h2>



Despite their different lineages, soft and stony corals often compete for the same space. The battle can get nasty.



Soft corals release toxic chemicals to keep others at bay. Stony corals strike back with stinging tentacles or even smother competitors with digestive tissue. Coral reefs may look peaceful, but turf wars are constant.



And yet, both types of coral have adapted to reef life in their own ways—until you get to the western Indian Ocean, where soft corals seem to be pulling ahead.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-reefs-stranded-by-tectonics">Reefs stranded by tectonics</h2>



This unexpected diversity in the Indian Ocean has roots in ancient geography. Twenty million years ago, a vast seaway called the Tethys Sea connected oceans from Asia to the Atlantic. It was full of coral reefs -until continental drift closed it off.



As Africa and Europe moved together, coral systems were squeezed and isolated. Some were cut off entirely. 



“As the Indonesian archipelago formed, reefs ended up colonizing that, and the diversity shifted there,” Paulay said.



The reefs of Madagascar and East Africa are remnants of what once stretched across a much wider region. This isolation might help explain their unique mix of species today.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-soft-corals-don-t-travel-well">Why soft corals don’t travel well</h2>



One big reason soft corals have two diversity centers comes down to how they reproduce.



Corals reproduce both asexually and sexually. In sexual <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-do-corals-have-sex-new-secrets-of-spawning-revealed/">reproduction</a>, some corals “broadcast” their eggs and sperm into the ocean. Others, called brooders, keep fertilized larvae inside until they’re ready to release them.



Broadcasting allows coral larvae to travel far - sometimes hundreds of miles. Brooding larvae, on the other hand, tend to sink near their parents. They don’t go far, and that limits their range.



Soft corals, especially brooders, aren’t good travelers. This helps explain why they’re largely missing from places like the tropical Atlantic and parts of the Pacific. It also explains why so many are unique to a single region.



The study found that endemic species - those found only in one area - were most common in the western Indian Ocean. And most of those were brooders.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-warming-threatens-rare-corals">Warming threatens rare corals</h2>



Endemic species are vulnerable. If their habitat disappears, they have nowhere else to go. The soft corals of Madagascar and East Africa face serious threats from warming oceans, overfishing, and pollution.



“When <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/coral-bleaching-has-reached-catastrophic-levels-on-the-great-barrier-reef/">bleaching</a> occurs with stony corals, they can often recover, depending on the severity and length of time they bleach,” McFadden said. “That’s not been documented with soft corals. They bleach, and they’re gone.”



If soft corals are more sensitive to bleaching - and more geographically restricted - the risks are compounded. But this also creates opportunity. Knowing where biodiversity is concentrated helps scientists know where to look for new species and where conservation efforts can do the most good.



“If you look at the number of studies that have actually identified species reliably across broad geographic ranges, it’s really focused on just maybe a half dozen groups of organisms,” McFadden said.



Most of those studies target species that humans use or consume. Soft corals don’t fall into that category. But they matter - ecologically, biologically, and as part of the reefs that support life in the ocean.



This new research gives us a clearer picture of coral diversity. More importantly, it reminds us how much we still don’t know - and how much there is left to protect.



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-025-98790-7">Scientific Reports</a>.



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Scientists discover hidden hotspot where soft corals are thriving

Soft corals have been part of coral reef ecosystems for...

A familiar song often pulls dormant memories into focus. Scientists have long wondered why music has such a direct line to memory.



New research reports that the feelings a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/our-brain-doesnt-just-hear-music-it-becomes-the-rhythm/">listener</a> experiences while the song plays decide which parts of the memory resurface.



The study was led by Kayla Clark, a cognitive neuroscientist at <a href="https://www.rice.edu/">Rice University</a>, and Dr. Stephanie Leal of UCLA.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-music-emotion-and-memory">Music, emotion, and memory</h2>



The team focused on <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7381437/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">emotional arousal</a>, the measurable surge of attention and bodily activity that follows a strong feeling. This surge controls hormone release linked to memory storage.



Modern brain‑imaging confirms the century‑old <a href="https://www.cell.com/trends/cognitive-sciences/fulltext/S1364-6613%2824%2900078-0" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Yerkes–Dodson law</a>, which shows that performance <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/some-people-are-born-to-enjoy-music-more-than-others/">peaks</a> at moderate arousal and drops at both extremes.



Prior <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19421427/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">studies</a> reveal that high‑arousal scenes strengthen memory for the gist, while low arousal helps people keep track of fine details. 



Large reviews further show that regular music therapy can sharpen cognition in people with dementia, an effect stronger than many non‑pharmacological programs.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-soundtracks-influence-memory">Soundtracks influence memory</h2>



Clark and Leal recruited 130 young adults who first saw images of everyday objects. 



Thirty minutes later, during the vulnerable consolidation window, participants completed questionnaires while hearing happy, sad, familiar, or unfamiliar classical pieces, neutral sounds, or silence.



After the ten‑minute listening period everyone faced a memory test that asked them to tag pictures as “old,” “new,” or “similar,” a task that separates general recall from precise <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3183227/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">pattern separation</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-more-emotion-less-precision">More emotion, less precision</h2>



“The more emotional that people became from the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/nostalgic-songs-light-up-your-brain-and-get-you-moving/">music</a>, the more they remembered the gist of a previous event. But people who had more moderate emotional responses to music remembered more details of previous events,” explained Clark. 



Individual reactions diverged even though the playlists were identical. Some listeners showed big spikes in arousal, others a moderate lift, and a third group actually calmed down.



Statistical clustering confirmed her words. Gist memory improved when arousal shot up or down, while the sharp discrimination of look‑alike images peaked only in the moderate group. 



Listeners who heard neutral sounds or silence did not show the same flip‑flop pattern, suggesting that music engages memory circuits differently from generic noise.



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



If you need to recall the outline of a lecture, you may benefit from energizing tracks that push arousal to the top of the curve. 



By contrast, writers, detectives, and students who must store minute specifics might choose calmer pieces that create a gentle emotional bump rather than a rush.



Because every brain gauges arousal differently, the most helpful <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/music-has-the-power-to-change-the-mood-of-our-memories/">playlist</a> will be personal. Smartphone sensors that read heart rate or skin conductance could someday adapt background music in real time, nudging each listener toward an individual sweet spot.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-match-music-to-memory">Match music to memory</h2>



Several brain regions help explain why music influences different types of memory. The hippocampus supports pattern separation, the ability to tell similar experiences apart, while the amygdala boosts memory for emotionally charged events.



Music also activates the nucleus accumbens and <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9164627/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ventral tegmental area</a>, key players in the brain’s reward system that release dopamine during pleasurable moments. 



This neural cocktail may shift memory storage pathways depending on emotional intensity.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-playlists-powered-by-biosignals">Playlists powered by biosignals</h2>



Tech developers are beginning to explore how biometric feedback could guide music curation. Wearables that track <a href="https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/heart-rate-variability-new-way-track-well-2017112212789" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">heart rate variability</a> or skin conductance might detect emotional arousal and adjust playlists to support focus or memory.



Some apps already use mood tagging or AI-driven personalization, but most lack real-time physiological input. 



Pairing arousal monitoring with tailored soundtracks could lead to smart systems that enhance memory on demand.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-memory-response-to-music-is-personal">Memory response to music is personal</h2>



Music that triggers strong emotional responses in one person might leave another unmoved. 



Factors like cultural background, personal experiences, and past associations shape how a listener reacts to a particular <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/higher-sound-quality-music/">song</a>.



This helps explain why familiar music didn't always cause the biggest change in arousal. Even songs rated as highly emotional overall had mixed effects across participants, underlining the need for personalized interventions.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-toward-tailored-dementia-care">Toward tailored dementia care</h2>



Memory loss in Alzheimer’s disease often spares broad stories while erasing specifics, the very trade‑off the study maps. 



Personalized playlists might counter that imbalance by steering arousal into the moderate range that supports detail retention.



A 2024 <a href="https://alzres.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13195-023-01214-9" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">meta‑analysis</a> of randomized trials reported that music interventions improved global cognition in nursing‑home residents without adding stress, reinforcing the promise of targeted musical medicine.



Future work will need to test older adults, diverse musical genres, and longer follow‑ups, but the current findings offer a practical guide: match the music to the memory goal rather than assuming more volume or excitement is always better.



The study is published in the <a href="https://www.jneurosci.org/content/early/2025/06/12/JNEUROSCI.0158-25.2025" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Journal of Neuroscience</a>.



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Listening to music can change how we recall memories

A familiar song often pulls dormant memories into focus. Scientists...

Can lichen survive on planets blasted with far more solar radiation than Earth? It’s a question that cuts to the heart of whether life could exist beyond our planet. Scientists have been looking to the skies for answers - and now, a new study offers one. 



Researchers from the Desert Research Institute (<a href="https://www.dri.edu/">DRI</a>) and the University of Nevada, Reno (<a href="https://www.unr.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">UNR</a>) have found that a common lichen growing in the Mojave Desert can survive levels of ultraviolet radiation previously thought to be lethal.



The study shows that this humble desert lichen might hold the key to understanding how life could endure in extreme environments on other worlds.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-is-the-lichen-black">Why is the lichen black?</h2>



The idea for the study started with something small and simple - a color.



“I was just walking in the desert and I noticed that the lichens growing there aren’t green, they’re black,” said Henry Sun, associate research professor of microbiology at DRI.



 “They are photosynthetic and contain chlorophyll, so you would think they’d be green. So I wondered, ‘What is the pigment they're wearing?’ And that pigment turned out to be the world’s best sunscreen.”



That “sunscreen” is a dark pigment on the surface of the lichen, Clavascidium lacinulatum, which lives in harsh, sun-drenched environments like the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/burrowing-animals-in-the-mojave-desert-escape-the-heat-of-climate-change/">Mojave</a>. Despite being constantly bombarded with solar radiation, the lichen survives - and thrives.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-exoplanets-face-uv-extremes">Exoplanets face UV extremes</h2>



Our planet’s atmosphere filters out the most dangerous form of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/uv-radiation-played-a-role-in-earths-largest-mass-extinction/">ultraviolet radiation</a>: UVC. It's the shortest and most harmful of the UV spectrum. 



We never experience it on Earth’s surface, but many <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/exotic-worlds-tess-unveils-126-new-exoplanets/">exoplanets</a> orbit stars that emit it in high doses - especially M and F type stars.



UVC is powerful enough to sterilize hospital rooms. It breaks down DNA and prevents reproduction in even the hardiest microorganisms. 



So the idea that anything could live on a planet exposed to that kind of radiation has seemed like a long shot. That is, until now.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-90-days-under-the-lamp">90 days under the lamp</h2>



Sun and his then-graduate student, Tejinder Singh, collected lichens from the desert near their homes in Las Vegas. They exposed the lichens to nonstop UVC radiation under lab conditions for three months - far longer than most studies of this kind.



“In order for a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-microorganisms-swim-without-a-brain-and-why-it-matters/">microorganism</a> to persist on a planet, it has to last longer than a day,” Sun explained. “So, our experiment had to be long enough to be ecologically significant. We also wanted to go beyond just activity and demonstrate viability.”



When the lichen was rehydrated after the experiment, half of the algal cells were still alive. They didn’t just survive - they replicated.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-the-lichen-survived">How the lichen survived</h2>



To understand the chemical shield protecting the lichen, the team worked with chemists at UNR. Together, they ran experiments that revealed a simple secret: the acids in the lichen's outer layer function like additives in plastic that prevent UV damage.



The researchers sliced the lichen open and found a dark, protective top layer - like a natural sunblock. 



Lichen is a mix of algae or cyanobacteria living in partnership with <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fungi-can-think-and-make-smart-decisions-without-a-brain/">fungi</a>. When the algal cells were separated from the fungi and protective layer, they couldn’t take the radiation. They died in under a minute.



Sun said what surprised them most was that this protection is not even necessary for survival on Earth. Our atmosphere already blocks UVC. “The protection is a mere bonus thanks to their remarkable UVA and UVB protection,” he said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-even-the-air-matters">Even the air matters</h2>



Solar radiation isn’t the only threat. When UV rays interact with certain chemicals in the air - like oxygen and nitric oxide - they can trigger reactions that create reactive oxygen species. These molecules can damage cells even more.



So the team ran another test. They placed the lichen in an oxygen-free environment while continuing UVC exposure. The result: less radiation damage.



“We came to the conclusion that the lichen’s top layer - a less than millimeter thick skin, if you will - assures that all the cells below are protected from radiation,” the researchers wrote. 



“This layer acts as a photo stabilizer and even protects the cells from harmful chemical reactions caused by the radiation, including reactive oxygen.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-life-beyond-earth">Life beyond Earth</h2>



The takeaway? Planets that seem too hostile might still host life. Microorganisms could adapt, protect themselves, and persist - just like the black lichens in the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/burrowing-animals-in-the-mojave-desert-escape-the-heat-of-climate-change/">Mojave Desert</a>.



“This work reveals the extraordinary tenacity of life even under the harshest conditions, a reminder that life, once sparked, strives to endure,” said Singh, who is now at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. 



“In exploring these limits, we inch closer to understanding where life might be possible beyond this planet we call home.”



In short, life might not need Earth-like conditions to exist. It may just need a way to adapt - and a very good tan.



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/ast.2024.0137">Astrobiology</a>.



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Desert lichen may offer clues to life beyond Earth

Can lichen survive on planets blasted with far more solar...

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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Worms dominated seas before dinosaurs

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



The full study was published in the journal Current Biology.



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Earth's oldest forest found in the United States

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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The environmental problem we actually solved

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

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

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







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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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What to plant in your garden in mid-July

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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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Wildlife tunnels save millions of amphibians

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

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



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



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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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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

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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

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

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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

Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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

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