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...

Most research studies that investigate the potential effects of climate change on animal and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/meat-industry-is-not-threatened-by-plant-based-alternatives/">plant</a> species do this by considering one species at a time. The ecological needs of a species, and how these will be met as the climate changes, give important information about what we might expect in terms of biodiversity in the future. Few studies, however, consider how food web interactions will affect the pace of change.



A new study, published today in the journal&nbsp;<a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/journal/rspb">Proceedings of the Royal Society B</a>, investigated how trophic relationships (the feeding of one species on another) will be affected by the poleward shift in distribution of marine species. As the ocean warms, species are expected to move in search of more suitable conditions, and this will affect not only their distributions, but also the dynamics of entire food webs. This will be particularly important for large species and commercially important fisheries on which people depend for food and a livelihood.&nbsp;



Using sophisticated computer models, the researchers determined that predator-prey interactions cause many marine species, especially large predators,&nbsp;to shift their ranges more slowly than the climate changes would suggest. They developed a “spatially explicit food-web model” that included parameters such as metabolism, body size and optimal temperature ranges for species, and this model revealed that dynamic trophic interactions limit a species’ ability to react quickly to warming temperatures.&nbsp;



For example, larger-bodied top predators stay longer than smaller prey in their tried and trusted habitats, partly because new sources of prey arrive in the predators’ historical ranges and this leads to the establishment of new food webs. One of the results of climate change in the ocean will therefore be a mixing and reshuffling of marine biodiversity.&nbsp;



“The model suggests that over the next 200 years of warming, species are going to continually reshuffle and be in the process of shifting their ranges,” said lead author&nbsp;<a href="https://ewtekwa.weebly.com/">E. W. Tekwa</a>, a former Rutgers postdoctoral student who is now at the University of British Columbia. “Even after 200 years, marine species will still be lagging behind temperature shifts, and this is particularly true for those at the top of the food web.”



This scenario has implications for commercial fishermen and fisheries all over the world. The researchers suggest that, while commercially harvested fish species will probably still occur in their usual ranges to some extent, their density is likely to be significantly reduced as many individuals will have moved to different regions.&nbsp;



Not only will large species and commercially important fisheries shift out of their historical ranges as climate warms, but they will likely not be as abundant even in their new geographic ranges. For instance, a cod fisherman in the Atlantic might still find fish 200 years from now but in significantly lower numbers.



“What that suggests from a fisheries perspective is that while the species we fish today will be there tomorrow, they will not be there in the same abundance. In such a context, overfishing becomes easier because the population growth rates are low,” said study co-author&nbsp;<a href="https://pinsky.marine.rutgers.edu/people/malin-pinsky/">Malin Pinsky</a>, an associate professor in Rutgers’ Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Natural Resources. “Warming, coupled with food-web dynamics, will be like putting marine biodiversity in a blender.”



The changes in trophic relationships and food webs in marine systems will lead to different communities of animals and plants interacting with each other. The model predicts that, as temperatures warm, predator-prey interactions will prevent species from following environmental conditions that would be most suitable to them because they will be hanging back “at home,” attempting to feed on the newly arriving prey species instead of following their traditional prey as they become established in new and more suitable geographical locations.&nbsp;



“These dynamics will not only be in one place but globally,” Pinsky said. “That does not bode well for marine life, and this is not an effect that has been widely recognized.”



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By <a href="mailto:bosman@truewan.co.za">Alison Bosman</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Climate change restructures marine food webs in unexpected ways

Most research studies that investigate the potential effects of climate...

Archerfish – a small group of fishes that live in Southeast Asia, Australia, and many regions in between - are famous for their amazing ability to shoot down land-based <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/invasive-insects-will-kill-more-than-a-million-street-trees-by-2050/">insects</a> with highly accurate streams of water that they project from their mouths. Until recently though, not much has been known about these peculiar aquatic creatures.&nbsp;



Questions regarding the number of archerfish species, how they are related to one another, and what is their evolutionary history have remained shrouded in mystery. However, a recent study led by the <a href="https://biodiversity.ku.edu/">University of Kansas (KU) Biodiversity Institute &amp; Natural History Museum</a> has now provided the most thorough examination of the evolutionary history and anatomical variation of archerfishes.



“There are other fish that eat insects and some that will jump out of water, but I would say there’s nothing really like this,” said study co-author Dr. Leo Smith, an evolutionary biologist and associate curator at KU’s Biodiversity Institute &amp; Natural History Museum. “There’s a potentially apocryphal story, which is that back in the mid-1800s in India, archerfishes would shoot out the colonizers’ cigarettes, just like if there was like a lightning bug. They would shoot them out and drive people crazy.”



In order to understand how this amazing behavior evolved, the researchers collected tissue samples and specimens of archerfish from various institutions and museums around the world, and analyzed their structures and genetic features. Their analyses revealed that, although the oral structures of archerfishes support a blowpipe mechanism that is common in many fish species, several unique soft-tissue oral structures may also play a fundamental role in shooting, distinguishing them from related types of fishes.



“Just because other fish can move water, it’s not anything like this,” Dr. Smith explained. “I equate it to, 'I could put a trumpet in my mouth, and I suppose I could make noise come out of it, but not like Miles Davis.' It’s like a fundamentally different thing, too, a really remarkable specialization for catching insects.”&nbsp;&nbsp;



According to Dr. Smith and his colleagues, archerfishes have a closely related “sister group” of fishes – the beach salmon – which have similar oral structures used to shoot water towards prey, suggesting that this capacity could be what evolutionary biologists call a co-opted or exapted trait.



“We think of adaptations like, for example, a sailfish that has this really beautiful sail on their dorsal fin - but a lot of fishes have dorsal fins and what they’ve done is kind of modify that dorsal fin to fit some other need,” said study lead author Matthew Girard, a postdoctoral fellow at the <a href="https://naturalhistory.si.edu/">National Museum of Natural History</a>.



“If we look at the group that’s most closely related to archerfish, it’s already eating hard-body things. So, archerfish must have had all the structures that would allow that to happen, and all they had to do was kind of modify those to be able to shoot. So that’s what that co-option is - it’s really a nuance saying that the necessary parts were already there and all they did was modify a few things to allow this to happen.”



An in-depth description of archerfish and their evolutionary history is published in the journal <a href="https://academic.oup.com/iob/advance-article/doi/10.1093/iob/obac013/6551314?login=false">Integrative Organismal Biology</a>.&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

How did the fascinating behavior of archerfish evolve?

Archerfish – a small group of fishes that live in...

As plastics enter the environment, they often break down through natural processes into microplastics, which are particles less than 5 millimeters in length. These microplastics end up in rivers, lakes and the ocean. There is growing concern about the impact of microplastics on the environment as well as wildlife and human health, yet little is still known about the effect of these plastic particles on fish.



Recent research, carried out in Professor Dong-Fang Deng’s lab at the <a href="https://uwm.edu/">University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee</a>, looked at the impact of microplastics on farm raised yellow perch.&nbsp;



The fish were given food contaminated with high density polyethylene (HDPE). The scientists found that although the perch could expel the microplastics, it came at the cost of lower nutritional value in the fish as well as changed liver function, and different microbiomes in their gut.&nbsp;



Yellow perch were used in this study because of their popularity as a food item. This is especially true as they are becoming increasingly raised in farms as wild caught fish become less common in the Great Lakes region, where the study was carried out.&nbsp;



“What we found is that the yellow perch not only survived the nine-week exposure, they also expelled all the microplastics from their bodies," said Professor Deng. "However, the nutritional quality of the fish was reduced – we saw lower body protein and mineral (ash) levels than in fish fed the control diet with no HDPE added."&nbsp;



"We also discovered that exposure to HDPE altered their liver function – they had a heavier liver enriched with glycogen (sugar) and bile acids, but lower lipid (fat) levels and enlarged hepatocytes, the cells involved in metabolism, detoxification and nutrient synthesis.&nbsp; We also saw some disturbance in the gut structure and microbiota community associated with immunity, nutrient digestion and absorption.”



The researchers emphasized that these results were from one particular type and size of microplastic, while various sizes, shapes and types of plastics could yield different results.&nbsp;



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/animal-nutrition">Animal Nutrition</a>.



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By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Yellow perch can eject microplastics, but it comes at a cost

As plastics enter the environment, they often break down through...

These days, plant-based alternatives to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/meat-industry-is-not-threatened-by-plant-based-alternatives/">meat</a> can be found on supermarket shelves and freezers, and in restaurants in many places in the world. Vegan burgers, sausages, nuggets, mince and a variety of other food types are common-place and modern biotechnology, food technology, and process engineering makes these products look, taste and smell remarkably similar to their animal counterparts.&nbsp;



However, it remains that proteins from animal muscle are very different from plant proteins and this inevitably impacts the chemical interactions between ingredients as well as some of the physical and mechanical properties once the plant protein enters the mouth.



In&nbsp;research published today by the <a href="https://www.aip.org/">American Institute of Physics</a>, scientists from Germany – where consumers can choose from more than 1,200 different types of sausage – investigate the molecular function and effects of vegetable proteins of different origins to identify what makes plant-based meat substitutes different once they are being chewed.&nbsp;



“We use direct comparisons of meat-based, vegetarian with egg white, and pure vegan versions to show the differences in bite, chewing, mouthfeel, bolus formation, and associated enjoyment characteristics of the sausages,” said co-author Thomas A. Vilgis, from the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research.



In particular, the researchers considered differences in tensile strength between the types of sausages. They say that muscle proteins emulsify fats and oils in a very different way to plant proteins and this makes plant-based sausages feel different when we bite and chew them.&nbsp;&nbsp;



“The ‘crunch’ or ‘crack’ of meat sausages is inevitably different than that of vegan sausages, simply because the molecular properties of the proteins are markedly different,” said Vilgis.



In addition, the researchers also tested the sausages in terms of their rheology (flow of matter), and tribology (friction) while in the mouth. This allowed greater insight into the differences between the three types of sausage than is gained from sensory comparisons alone.&nbsp;



“We're looking much deeper than what is usually done in food technology, by taking into account the molecular properties of ingredients as much as possible,” Vilgis said.



“We are taking a closer look at the proteins as well as the sequence of amino acids, which we understand as a ‘code’ from which we can read certain properties to better understand the behavior of the sausages in the mouth when they are consumed. Thus, fundamental differences in the molecular structure and mouthfeel become immediately apparent.”



Building on the authors’ previous research of soft matter theory and theoretical polymer physics, the study represents an entirely new approach to experimental food science.



“We're working directly at the interface between basic science and technological application,” said Vilgis. “With these methods, it is possible to make predictions in how the physical properties of an alternative sausage can be improved – and make targeted developments.”



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://aip.scitation.org/journal/phf">Physics of Fluids</a>.&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:bosman@truewan.co.za">Alison Bosman</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Who says there’s no difference between meat and plant-based sausages?

These days, plant-based alternatives to meat can be found on...

Although medical advances are causing an increase in average life expectancy, the human brain begins to perform worse with age. At the neuronal level, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-can-reverse-the-aging-process-in-middle-aged-mice/">aging</a> manifests itself through anatomical changes in the grey and white matter in specific brain regions, while at the cognitive level, short- and long-term memory deteriorates, information-processing speed decreases, and control over linguistic, visuospatial, and executive skills declines.&nbsp;



However, the speed of aging varies, depending upon a person’s cognitive reserve – the brain’s ability to maintain optimal performance while coping with age-related changes. This reserve is built up over the course of life, as the brain strengthens various neural networks in response to different stimuli.&nbsp;



According to previous studies, the more complex these neural networks are, the greater a person’s cognitive reserve and thus capacity to cope with aging. While it is already well-known that cognitive reserve is influenced by various factors, such as physical activity, nutrition, level of education, career path, or socio-economic status, a new study led by the <a href="https://www.hse.ru/en/">HSE University</a> in Russia and <a href="https://www.northumbria.ac.uk/">Northumbria University</a> in the UK has found for the first time that bilingualism is another strongly beneficial factor for cognitive reserve, and could help slow down and mitigate the course of age-related changes in the brain.



By conducting an experiment that measured the speed of cognitive functioning of 63 healthy older adults (aged 60 or above), the scientists found that the more fluent the participants were in a second language, the faster they were in solving the tasks they were presented with.



“Unlike other factors that shape cognitive reserve, bilingualism is unique in that it is constantly present in our lives. We can take up and give up physical exercise, go on one diet or another, or change jobs, but language remains with us all the time. We communicate, watch movies, and read books, and the language centers are constantly working in our mind,” explained study lead author Federico Gallo, a Junior Research Fellow at HSE.&nbsp;



“We witnessed an interesting phenomenon in this experiment: with a high level of language proficiency, the correlation between successful conflict resolution and other components of cognitive reserve disappeared. This suggests that bilingualism’s benefits on cognitive reserve might be stronger than those of other known factors.”



According to Dr. Gallo and his colleagues, proficiency in two or more languages improves brain functioning not only in healthy people, but also in those with various neurodegenerative diseases. Moreover, bilingualism seems to improve not only the executive functioning of the brain, but also episodic, working, and semantic memory, together with overall intelligence.



“There are no really effective drugs available today to prevent or slow down brain ageing. It takes enormous financial resources to develop pharmaceutical treatments. Therefore, finding and researching alternative, non-drug ways to slow down cognitive ageing should become a priority in science. In the long term, we plan to study how the benefits of bilingualism on ageing may vary with different language pairs,” Dr. Gallo concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.780261/full#B42">Frontiers in Psychology</a>.



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By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Speaking multiple languages slows down brain aging

Although medical advances are causing an increase in average life...

A new study led by <a href="https://www.flinders.edu.au/">Flinders University</a> and <a href="https://www.mq.edu.au/">Macquarie University</a> in Australia has found that sharks’ response to the smell of food declined if not sufficiently rewarded by the promise of eating. These findings suggest that sharks can learn to avoid wasting time and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dolphins-burn-energy-during-speedy-swims-for-survival/">energy</a> on food sources that are inaccessible. Since wildlife tourism often uses food or smell to attract sharks to the proximity of visitors, understanding sharks’ habituation to food-related olfactory cues is necessary to help this type of tourism run smoothly.



The scientists used three groups of captive Port Jackson sharks to study their response to smell across different reward frequencies. While the first group was rewarded with food each time they reached a target and the second one was rewarded every other day, the third one was never rewarded.&nbsp;



The sharks that were always rewarded learned quickly the task and became faster and better at reaching the target. In the case of the un-rewarded sharks though, the scientists observed a reduction of their natural response to the smell of potential food, with some sharks not even leaving their starting position after a few trials.



“Our study revealed that while shark behavior can change when frequently rewarded with food, the learnt response diminishes when reward frequency is decreased and even disappears when no reward is provided,” said study lead author Dennis Heinrich, a recent PhD graduate from Flinders University.



“The observed decline in response to a repeated stimulus, or habituation, may act as a driver of optimal foraging strategies, enabling sharks to quickly abandon low-yielding foraging patches in search of more productive sites.”



In future research, the scientists want to test these findings with species that are more commonly targeted by wildlife tourism, such as white sharks, and investigate whether habituation can be detected at tourist locations.



“The knowledge gained from this study can help account for learnt behaviors and habituation when managing wildlife tourism moving forward,” said study senior author Charlie Huvenaars, a marine biologist at Flinders University. “A balance needs to be found between attracting sharks for tourism purposes and minimizing behavioral response and possible learnt behaviors.”



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S000334722200063X?via%3Dihub">Animal Behavior</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Sharks learn to stop wasting time on prey they can't catch

A new study led by Flinders University and Macquarie University...

Headaches are a common human affliction that affect people all over the world. They can be debilitating and result in loss of function in some people. But there are several different types of headaches and the causes are often not well understood. In addition, the methodology used to study headache prevalence has varied considerably in the past, which makes it challenging to estimate the global incidence of headache episodes.&nbsp;



In recent research, scientists from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) reviewed 357 publications, published between 1961 and the end of 2020, in an effort to estimate the global prevalence of headaches. The majority of publications considered in the review reported on headache incidence in adults between 20 and 65, but some also included adolescents and children down to the age of five, as well as elderly people over the age of 65.&nbsp;



Lars Jacob Stovner, professor of neurology at NTNU, and colleagues, quantified the differences in methods between the studies they reviewed. For example, while most studies reported headache prevalence in participants during the past year, some considered headache occurrence across the whole lifetime. And yet others reported headache prevalence over much shorter time periods, even within the previous day only. The researchers modelled these differences in methods and assessed how they may have impacted estimates in headache prevalence.



Based on the 357 publications reviewed, the authors estimate that 52 percent of the global population experience a headache disorder within a given year, with 14 percent reporting a migraine, 26 percent reporting a tension-type headache and 4.6 percent reporting a headache for 15 or more days per month. From the 12 studies that reported whether participants had experienced a headache the previous day, the authors estimate that 15.8 percent of the world’s population have a headache on any given day, and almost half of those individuals (7 percent) report having a migraine.



“We found that the prevalence of headache disorders remains high worldwide and the burden of different types may impact many," said study lead author Lars Jacob Stovner. "We should endeavor to reduce this burden through prevention and better treatment. To measure the effect of such efforts, we must be able to monitor prevalence and burden in societies. Our study helps us understand how to improve our methods.”



Further findings from the study, published today in <a href="https://thejournalofheadacheandpain.biomedcentral.com/">The Journal of Headache and Pain</a>, include the fact that all types of headaches were more common in females than males, most markedly for migraines (17 percent in females compared to 8.6 percent in males) and headaches that lasted for 15 or more days per month (6 percent in females compared to 2.9 percent in males).



When trying to interpret the effects that study methods had on headache estimates, the researchers calculated the amount of variation in migraine prevalence that was explained by various methodological factors, such as screening questions, sample size, publication year, and how diagnostic criteria were applied. These variables explained a total of 29.9 percent of the differences in migraine estimates and even less for other headache disorders. This suggests that there may be other methodological factors accounting for the greater variations across the studies.&nbsp;



Interestingly, the researchers found that year of publication accounted for six percent of the variation in headache estimates, with more recent studies being associated with higher estimates of headache prevalence. The publication year did not account for the variation in other headache types, leading the authors to propose that this might reflect a real increase in migraine occurrence over the past three to four decades. Alternatively, this finding could indicate that the diagnosis of migraines has improved during this time.&nbsp;



The study authors acknowledge that the majority of studies they reviewed came from high-income countries with good healthcare systems so the findings may not reflect the situation in all countries. Further investigation into the situation in middle and low-income countries would help present a more accurate global estimate. However, the authors did use a wide range of studies for their review, thus obtaining data from as many countries as possible. These studies sampled participants within and outside of clinical settings, including employees of a company, university students and hospital staff, amongst others.



“Compared to our previous report and global estimates, the data does suggest that headache and migraine rates may be increasing," said Lars Jacob Stovner. "However, given that we could explain only 30 percent or less of the variation in headache estimates with the measures we looked at, it would be premature to conclude headaches are definitively increasing. What is clear is that overall, headache disorders are highly prevalent worldwide and can be a high burden. It may also be of interest in future to analyze the different causes of headaches that varied across groups to target prevention and treatment more effectively.”



The researchers conclude that this study provides a baseline for how to estimate headache rates across the world and future research could build on this to improve methods for measuring the success of interventions and treatment.



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By <a href="mailto:bosman@truewan.co.za">Alison Bosman</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Headaches impact more than 50 percent of people

Headaches are a common human affliction that affect people all...

With the transition to green energy becoming ever more pressing, countries are looking to expand their <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/green-energy-create-jobs-coal/">renewable energy</a> infrastructure in order to meet future energy requirements. In Europe and northern Africa, this means the establishment of many more onshore wind turbines and electrical power cables to connect them to the grid. Such developments are essential in order to prevent runaway climate change, but may prove disastrous for populations of birds that risk collisions with this infrastructure.



New research led by the <a href="https://www.uea.ac.uk/">University of East Anglia</a> (UEA) has used GPS location data from 65 bird tracking studies in order to identify the locations where birds fly more often at danger height and would therefore be at increased risk of colliding with wind turbines and power lines. They also assessed the locations of planned green energy infrastructure developments and identified potential collision hotspots where birds may be at increased risk of destruction.



The results, published today in the <a href="https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/13652664">Journal of Applied Ecology</a>, show that areas where birds are most vulnerable to collisions are particularly concentrated within important migration routes, along coastlines and near breeding locations. There was a high movement of individuals through the bottlenecks of the European-African Flyway, such as southern Iberia, as well as Sinai, the Gulf of Iskenderun and the Bosporus in Turkey. In addition, movement hotspots included the western Mediterranean coast of France and the Moroccan coast – around the Strait of Gibraltar – eastern Romania, and the Baltic coast of Germany.



The GPS location and altitude data that the researchers used related to 1,454 birds from 27 different species. &nbsp;Dangerous heights for flying were considered to be 10–60 meters above ground for collision with power lines and 15-135 meters for wind turbines. The data showed that the risk of collision varied between species, with the large, soaring birds being most vulnerable. Species such as the Eurasian spoonbill, European eagle owl, whooper swan, Iberian imperial eagle and white stork were among those that fly consistently at heights where they risk collision.



The authors produced vulnerability maps identifying probable collision hotspots where birds would be more sensitive to onshore wind turbine or power line development. They say that the development of new wind turbines and transmission power lines should be minimized in these areas, and that if new energy infrastructure is developed there, it will need to take into account mitigation factors to reduce the risks to birds.



“We know from previous research that there are many more suitable locations to build wind turbines than we need in order to meet our clean energy targets up to 2050,” said Jethro Gauld, lead author and PhD researcher in UEA’s School of Environmental Sciences.



“If we can do a better job of assessing risks to biodiversity, such as collision risk for birds, into the planning process at an early stage we can help limit the impact of these developments on wildlife while still achieving our climate targets.”



“Our results will help achieve this and in doing so provide better outcomes for people and wildlife.”



Dr Aldina Franco, the project supervisor at UEA,&nbsp;said: “This collaborative study, including research from 51 researchers and 15 countries, is a great example of where working together can start to answer some of the big questions around the threats that African-Eurasian migrants face on their long annual journeys.”



According to Phil Atkinson, project supervisor&nbsp;from the British Trust for Ornithology, the use of high precision GPS devices allow experts to study birds’ movements in huge detail. "Birds do not respect country boundaries, and power lines and wind turbines impact migratory birds across their annual cycle, especially for large soaring birds such as raptors and storks.”



In the second phase of their study, the researchers overlaid their vulnerability maps derived from bird behavioral data on the locations of existing energy infrastructure to identify areas where birds are most exposed to current collision risks with wind turbines and power lines.&nbsp;



“Our maps can also help target measures to reduce risks where previously built developments are already causing problems," said Gauld. "They highlight the areas where existing energy infrastructure is already providing a source of collision risk for these birds. It is therefore a key conservation priority for additional measures to reduce collision risk are implemented in these vulnerability hotspots.”



“Such measures can include marking power lines to make them more visible, and implementing systems to allow shutdown of wind turbines during periods of high bird traffic."



The transition to zero carbon energy will necessitate the construction of many new windfarms in the near future. For example, European onshore wind energy capacity is projected to grow nearly fourfold by 2050, and countries in the Middle East and North Africa, such as Morocco and Tunisia, also have their targets to increase the share of electricity supply from onshore wind. In addition to this, there will be a huge investment in new high voltage power lines, with an estimated fivefold increase in transmission capacity required between 2010 and 2050.&nbsp;



Although these developments are essential, they will pose a challenge to wildlife, particularly birds and bats that fly at danger heights and are at risk of collision and electrocution. The researchers hope the study provides a method which other researchers and practitioners involved in environmental impact assessments for renewables can replicate as more data from tracking studies becomes available.



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By <a href="mailto:bosman@truewan.co.za">Alison Bosman</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Birds threatened by collisions with green energy infrastructure

With the transition to green energy becoming ever more pressing,...

In a new study from the <a href="https://www.sfn.org/">Society for Neuroscience</a>, experts have discovered that the strength of a specific brain circuit predicts a child’s ability to understand <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/gray-whales-are-dying-in-alarming-numbers/">numbers</a>. Training programs designed to target this brain circuit may improve math learning for children across a range of abilities, according to the researchers.



The intraparietal sulcus (IPS), located on the lateral surface of the parietal lobe, was known to play a a role in number processing, yet the circuit's involvement in learning number sense was not known.



"Mathematical skill development relies on number sense, the ability to discriminate between quantities," explained study lead author Dr. Hyesang Chang of Stanford University.



The experts conducted a four-week training program which involved mapping symbols to the amounts they represent. During the training, the researchers studied synchronized activity between the hippocampus and other brain regions in nearly 100 children between the ages of seven and ten.



The brain scans revealed that connectivity between the hippocampus and the IPS before training predicted a child's ability to learn number sense. The children with more synchronized activity in this brain circuit were able to learn more during the course.



"Our integrated number sense training program was effective in children across a wide a range of math abilities, including children with learning difficulties," said Dr. Chang. "We identify hippocampal-parietal circuits that predict individual differences in learning gains."



"Our study identifies a novel brain circuit predictive of the acquistion of foundational number sense skills and delineates a robust target for effective interventions and monitoring response to cognitive training."



According to Dr. Chang, number sense in early childhood is predictive of academic and professional success, and deficits are thought to underlie lifelong impairments in mathematical abilities.



"Despite its importance, the brain circuit mechanisms that support number sense learning remain poorly understood."



"Here, we designed a theoretically motivated training program to determine brain circuit mechanisms underlying foundational number sense learning in female and male elementary school-aged children."



"Our four-week integrative number sense training program gradually strengthened the understanding of the relations between symbolic Arabic numerals and non-symbolic representations of quantity."



"Crucially, the strength of pre-training functional connectivity between the hippocampus and intraparietal sulcus, brain regions implicated in associative learning and quantity discrimination, respectively, predicted individual differences in number sense learning across typically developing children and children with learning difficulties."



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.jneurosci.org/">JNeurosci</a>.



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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

Brain circuit strength predicts math learning ability in children

In a new study from the Society for Neuroscience, experts...

Climate variability may not have served as one of the biggest drivers of human and mammal <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/jellyfish-eyes-catch-a-glimpse-of-evolutionary-history/">evolution</a>, according to a new study from the <a href="https://www.arizona.edu/">University of Arizona</a>.&nbsp;



The researchers compared environmental data and fossil records of large mammals that lived across Africa during the last four million years. The results contradict the long-standing theory that climate shifts repeatedly prompted evolutionary changes in early humans and other mammals.&nbsp;



The Plio-Pleistocene is a period in Earth's history that spans the last five million years, including the last ice age about 20,000 years ago.&nbsp;



Over this time period, the researchers observed a long-term trend of increasing environmental variability across Africa. However, this variation did not strongly correspond with rates of species origination or extinction, indicating that environmental variability and species turnover are not closely related.&nbsp;



According to study first author Professor Andrew Cohen, the idea that long-term trends toward a wetter or drier climate may have been a driver of human evolution goes back to the time of Charles Darwin. In the late 1990s, a new theory was introduced - the influential variability selection hypothesis.



"The idea here is that it's not just the direction of climate change that was important as a driver for evolutionary novelty in the hominin lineage, but the variability in the environmental and climate conditions," explained Professor Cohen. "As our ancestors faced rapidly shifting conditions, this hypothesis suggests they had to be more resourceful and capable of dealing with many different contingencies, which, in turn, led to new species appearing while others went extinct."



While the study authors acknowledge that the variability selection hypothesis could still be correct but operating at different scales, they hope to encourage the scientific community to think about the variability selection hypothesis in a more critical way - "rather than just accepting it as an underlying principle of how we look at the fossil record in Africa, and especially the human fossil record," said Professor Cohen.



"We don't say that environmental variability is not important for human evolution, but the data we have currently compiled is very inconsistent with that idea."



"If environmental variability was as important as it has been made out to be, we would expect to see that long-term trend of increasing variability mirrored in evolutionary turnover in all kinds of species, including hominins, but we just don't see that."



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.pnas.org/">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>&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

Climate variability may not be strongly linked to human evolution

Climate variability may not have served as one of the...

Interoception refers to the ability of sensing the internal state of one’s body, such as observing when the heart starts racing or breathing quickens. Since impaired interoceptive awareness is linked to decreased capacity to regulate emotions and increased susceptibility to mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression, or even to neurodegenerative diseases like <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-build-a-supermolecule-that-may-treat-alzheimers/">Alzheimer’s</a>, understanding its ontogenetic and phylogenetic origins is crucial for future psychologic and neuropsychiatric research.&nbsp;



Now, a study led by the <a href="https://cnprc.ucdavis.edu/">California National Primate Research Center</a> at the University of California, Davis has found the first clear evidence of interoception in the animal kingdom: rhesus monkeys seem to be able to perceive and monitor their own heartbeats.



“Interoception is hugely important for emotion regulation and mental health in adults, and yet we know very little about how it develops in early infancy or comes to be across evolutionary time,” said study co-author Manos Tsakiris, a professor of Psychology at the <a href="https://www.royalholloway.ac.uk/">Royal Holloway, University of London</a>. “The work we present here represents a first successful attempt to fill these gaps.”&nbsp;



Professor Tsakiris and his colleagues monitored four rhesus monkeys which were placed in front of an infrared eye tracker that bounced and generated a sound either synchronous or asynchronous with the monkeys’ heartbeats. All the monkeys spent more time observing the stimuli presented out of rhythm with their heartbeat, suggesting that they were conscious of their own heartbeats and were thus surprised by the out-of-sync stimuli. These results match those from similar experiments performed on human infants, and provide the first behavioral evidence that rhesus monkeys have a well-developed interoceptive sense.



“This model will be used in future translational studies of neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s,” said study lead author Eliza Bliss-Moreau, an associate professor of Psychology at UC Davis. “If we can measure interoception, we can track it as a behavioral biomarker of disease progression.”&nbsp;



Further research is needed to study the mechanisms of interoception in other animals and clarify the extent to which disruption in animals’ ability to sense their internal states could also be linked to neurological and psychiatric disorders.&nbsp;



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2119868119">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>.



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By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Rhesus monkeys can sense their own heartbeat

Interoception refers to the ability of sensing the internal state...

Agriculture will play a key role in reducing greenhouse gas <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/methane-emissions-hit-a-new-record-in-2021/">emissions</a> and limiting global warming, according to the latest report by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.



Professor Brent Sohngen of <a href="https://www.osu.edu/">The Ohio State University</a> was the lead author of the IPCC report’s section on agriculture. This portion of the document, which spanned about 130 pages, explains how agriculture, forests, and related land use can contribute to both climate change and climate mitigation.



“The key message is that there are a lot of actions in the agricultural land-use sectors that people around the world can undertake to mitigate climate change,” said Professor Sohngen, who has worked with the IPCC since the late 1990s.



Agriculture and land use changes such as deforestation account for about 22 percent of all carbon dioxide emissions. If these numbers could be reduced, either by curbing deforestation or turning to alternative biofuels, between 9 and 11 billion tons of carbon dioxide per year could be mitigated, explained Professor Sohngen.



The IPCC report warns that if people and governments do not begin to take climate warnings seriously, global warming could soon become twice as catastrophic as it is now. The document states that while many nations have previously promised to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, it will take real change - not political promises - to ensure humanity does not waste its last chance.



Experts from more than 165 countries reviewed over 18,000 scientific papers to compile the IPCC report. They found some good news in the fact that the key technologies and policies needed to limit global warming already exist. According to the researchers, solar and wind power are some of the best ways we have to combat climate change.&nbsp;



“Now there are more options and more ways for people to get involved in mitigating climate change that are within the realm of being cost effective,” said Professor Sohngen. “Part of the reason why people are more optimistic about this report is because we’ve actually made progress on reducing emissions through mitigation actions.”



“The scientific literature suggests that if we do want to stay under the 1.5 degree target, we have to really scale up financing. We’ve estimated that about $50 to $250 billion per year over the next decade is needed to achieve some of the goals in the land-use sector for mitigation.”



Professor Sohngen said that he’s optimistic about how the public will respond to the report.&nbsp;



“There’s undoubtedly some approaches to climate change that we’re not thinking about now that hopefully, the next generation of scientists will think about in the future. I think that this report is an opportunity for people to study and to develop new methods, and better solutions to the climate crisis.”



---



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

Agriculture could play a key role in limiting global warming

Agriculture will play a key role in reducing greenhouse gas...

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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Worms dominated seas before dinosaurs

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



The full study was published in the journal Current Biology.



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Earth's oldest forest found in the United States

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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The environmental problem we actually solved

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

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

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</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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https://youtu.be/XYgiPzmNBTU?si=eFYY7gPHU1JznLvU
</div></figure>



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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-----

Wildlife tunnels save millions of amphibians

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Is chocolate the next nutritional powerhouse?

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

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="X0f6OHYoI4-2310561-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

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

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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