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...

Poor gut health may increase the severity of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/covid-19-immunity-may-persist-for-eight-months-or-more/">COVID-19</a>, which is often accompanied by gastrointestinal symptoms like diarrhea. According to the <a href="https://asm.org/">American Society for Microbiology</a>, a growing collection of evidence shows that having an altered gut microbiome allows the virus to gain entry into the GI tract.

Dr. Heenam Stanley Kim, an expert at the Korea University Laboratory for Human-Microbial Interactions, reports that gut dysfunction may exacerbate the severity of infection by enabling the virus to access the surface of the digestive tract and internal organs.

COVID-19 patients experience a wide range of symptoms, the most common of which are high fevers and respiratory problems. Autopsies have confirmed that COVID-19 infection can also affect the liver, kidney, heart, spleen, and the gastrointestinal tract. These organs are vulnerable to infection because they have a number of ACE2 receptors that are targeted by the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein.

A substantial amount of hospitalized patients with breathing problems also have diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting. This indicates that when the virus breaches the GI tract, it worsens the severity of the disease. "There seems to be a clear connection between the altered gut microbiome and severe COVID-19," explained Dr. Kim.

Older adults and people with underlying medical conditions including high blood pressure, diabetes, and obesity are known to face a higher risk of severe COVID-19. Both of these factors - age and chronic conditions - are also associated with an altered gut microbiome. 

Dr. Kim noted that this imbalance can affect gut barrier integrity, which can give pathogens easier access to cells in the intestinal lining. He is not the only expert who has promised the idea that unhealthy gut microbiomes may be an underlying reason for why some people have such severe infections.

In Singapore, a study on symptomatic COVID-19 patients found that about half had a detectable level of the coronavirus in fecal tests, but only about half of those experienced GI symptoms. Dr. Kim pointed out that a person's gut health at the time of infection may be critical for symptom development.

The disease has been linked to a decrease in beneficial gut bacterial species, as well as an increase in pathogenic bacteria. Furthermore, many recent studies have found reduced bacterial diversity in gut samples collected from COVID-19 patients compared to samples from healthy people. 

The researchers have identified bacterial species which may provide resistance to COVID-19 infection, including some families that are responsible for producing butyrate, a short-chain fatty acid. This bacteria plays a critical role in gut health by reinforcing gut-barrier function.

Dr. Kim said he started analyzing studies on the link between COVID-19 severity and gut health after realizing that wealthy countries with a good medical infrastructure, including the United States and nations in Western Europe, were among the hardest hit by the virus. The most common diets in these countries are low in fiber. 

"A fiber-deficient diet is one of the main causes of altered gut microbiomes, and such gut microbiome dysbiosis leads to chronic diseases," explained Dr. Kim.

Eating more fiber, he said, may lower a person's risk of serious disease. And fecal microbiota transplantation might be a treatment worth considering for patients with the worst cases of COVID-19.

According to Dr. Kim, the problem with poor gut health goes beyond COVID-19. "The whole world is suffering from this COVID-19 pandemic, but what people do not realize is that the pandemic of damaged gut microbiomes is far more serious now."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://mbio.asm.org/">mBio</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Gut health may protect you from severe COVID-19

Poor gut health may increase the severity of COVID-19, which...

The ancient <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/earths-forests-are-threatened-by-drought-and-human-development/">human</a> culture of the Middle Stone Age persisted 20,000 years longer than previously thought, according to a team of researchers led by the <a href="https://www.shh.mpg.de/en">Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History</a>. The study reveals that tool-making traditions of the Middle Stone Age, which were believed to have vanished from the African record 30,000 years ago, were still used in parts of West Africa up until just 11,000 years ago. 

Tools known as "scrapers" and "points" were assumed to have been completely replaced by a miniaturized toolkit that was better suited for mobile groups of hunter-gatherers. However, evidence of Middle Stone tools found at sites throughout modern-day Senegal show they were being used 20,000 years later than what was expected.

"West Africa is a real frontier for human evolutionary studies - we know almost nothing about what happened here in deep prehistory. Almost everything we know about human origins is extrapolated from discoveries in small parts of eastern and southern Africa," said study lead author Dr. Eleanor Scerri.

To investigate, Dr. Scerri collaborated with Dr. Khady Niang of the University of Cheikh Anta Diop to organize a research expedition to different regions of Senegal. Across stretches of two major river systems, the Senegal and the Gambia, the team found multiple Middle Stone Age sites that all had surprisingly young dates.

"These discoveries demonstrate the importance of investigating the whole of the African continent, if we are to really get a handle on the deep human past." said Dr. Niang. "Prior to our work, the story from the rest of Africa suggested that well before 11 thousand years ago, the last traces of the Middle Stone Age - and the lifeways it reflects - were long gone."

It is not yet clear why this region of West Africa was home to such a late persistence of Middle Stone Age culture.

"To the north, the region meets the Sahara Desert," explained study co-author Dr. Jimbob Blinkhorn. "To the east, there are the Central African rainforests, which were often cut off from the West African rainforests during periods of drought and fragmentation. Even the river systems in West Africa form a self-contained and isolated group."

"It is also possible that this region of Africa was less affected by the extremes of repeated cycles of climate change," added Dr. Scerri. "If this was the case, the relative isolation and habitat stability may simply have resulted in little need for radical changes in subsistence, as reflected in the successful use of these traditional toolkits."

"All we can be sure about is that this persistence is not simply about a lack of capacity to invest in the development of new technologies. These people were intelligent, they knew how to select good stone for their tool making and exploit the landscape they lived in," said Dr. Niang.

The research supports the idea that for most of humanity's deep prehistory, populations were relatively isolated from each other and lived in subdivided groups in different regions.

For a short time, Middle Stone Age populations lived alongside other groups that were already using the more recently developed miniaturized toolkits in a culture that is referred to as the "Later Stone Age."

"This matches genetic studies suggesting that African people living in the last ten thousand years lived in very subdivided populations," said Dr. Niang. "We aren't sure why, but apart from physical distance, it may be the case that some cultural boundaries also existed. Perhaps the populations using these different material cultures also lived in slightly different ecological niches."

About 15,000 years ago, there was a major increase in humidity and forest growth in western Africa that could have linked different areas and provided new passageways for genetic and cultural mixing. According to the researchers, this was likely the beginning of the end of humanity's first and earliest culture.

"These findings do not fit a simple unilinear model of cultural change towards 'modernity'," explained Dr. Scerri. "Groups of hunter-gatherers embedded in radically different technological traditions occupied neighbouring regions of Africa for thousands of years, and sometimes shared the same regions. Long isolated regions, on the other hand, may have been important reservoirs of cultural and genetic diversity. This may have been a defining factor in the success of our species."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/srep">Scientific Reports</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Middle Stone Age culture lasted 20,000 years longer than expected

The ancient human culture of the Middle Stone Age persisted...

In a new study from the <a href="https://www.lji.org/">La Jolla Institute for Immunology</a>, researchers have determined that COVID-19 immunity could last for eight months, or possibly even years. The experts report that nearly all <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/plant-compounds-in-muscadine-grapes-block-coronavirus-replication/">coronavirus</a> survivors have the immune cells necessary to fight reinfection.

The researchers analyzed blood samples from 188 COVID-19 patients. Their results indicate that the body's adaptive immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 provide the body with the ability to fight off this pathogen for at least eight months after the onset of symptoms from the initial infection.

"Our data suggest that the immune response is there - and it stays," said Dr. Alessandro Sette.

"We measured antibodies, memory B cells, helper T cells and killer T cells all at the same time," explained Professor Shane Crotty. "As far as we know, this is the largest study ever, for any acute infection, that has measured all four of those components of immune memory."

Previous studies documented a dramatic decline in COVID-fighting antibodies in the months following infection, which has caused concern about the body's ability to defend itself. The new research helps to clarify this data. 

"Of course, the immune response decreases over time to a certain extent, but that's normal. That's what immune responses do. They have a first phase of ramping up, and after that fantastic expansion, eventually the immune response contracts somewhat and gets to a steady state," said Dr. Sette.

The researchers found that COVID-19 antibodies persist in the bloodstream months after infection. Furthermore, after coronavirus infection, the body is equipped with immune cells called memory B cells that can reactivate and produce the antibodies needed to fight reinfection.

The experts looked for memory B cells that specifically recognize the spike protein which is used by SARS-CoV-2 to gain entry into human cells. They discovered that spike-specific memory B cells actually increased in the blood six months after infection. 

In addition, COVID-19 survivors had an army of T cells that were prepared to destroy infected cells more than eight months after the initial infection. 

"This implies that there's a good chance people would have protective immunity, at least against serious disease, for that period of time, and probably well beyond that," said Professor Crotty.

The researchers caution that protective immunity varies dramatically from person to person. People with a weak immune memory may be more vulnerable reinfection, and also more likely to infect others.

"There are some people that are way down at the bottom of how much immune memory they have, and maybe those people are a lot more susceptible to reinfection," said Professor Crotty.

According to Dr. Daniela Weiskopf, it is possible that immune memory will be similarly long lasting similar following vaccination, but further research is needed when the data becomes available.

"Several months ago, our studies showed that natural infection induced a strong response, and this study now shows that the responses lasts," said Dr. Weiskopf. "The vaccine studies are at the initial stages, and so far have been associated with strong protection. We are hopeful that a similar pattern of responses lasting over time will also emerge for the vaccine-induced responses."

The researchers will continue to analyze samples from COVID-19 patients and hope to track their responses 12 to 18 months after the onset of symptoms.

"We are also doing very detailed analyses at a much, much higher granularity on what pieces of the virus are recognized," said Dr. Sette. "And we plan to evaluate the immune response not only following natural infection but following vaccination."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencemag.org/">Science</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

COVID-19 immunity persists for eight months or more

In a new study from the La Jolla Institute for...

In a study from the <a href="http://www.uhnllc.com/">Universal Health Network</a>, a team of researchers led by Dr. Catherine O'Brien has found that <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/meat-and-dairy-consumption-linked-to-higher-risk-of-cancer/">cancer</a> cells can transition into a dormant state when they are threatened by chemotherapy. According to the investigation, all cancer cells, and not just a specific subset, have the ability to rest in this protective state until the threat of treatment is over.

The study is the first of its kind to reveal that cancer cells utilize an evolutionarily conserved strategy to persevere throughout intensive therapy. The researchers have also found that cancer regrowth can be prevented by using therapeutic strategies that target cancer cells in this slow-dividing state.

"The tumor is acting like a whole organism, able to go into a slow-dividing state, conserving energy to help it survive," said Dr. O'Brien. "There are examples of animals entering into a reversible and slow-dividing state to withstand harsh environments. It appears that cancer cells have craftily co-opted this same state for their survival benefit."

Dr. Aaron Schimmer is the director of the Research Institute and a senior scientist at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre. He explained that the research shows that cancer cells hibernate like "bears in winter."

"We never actually knew that cancer cells were like hibernating bears. This study also tells us how to target these sleeping bears so they don't hibernate and wake up to come back later, unexpectedly," said Dr. Schimmer.

"I think this will turn out to be an important cause of drug resistance, and will explain something we did not have a good understanding of previously."

For their investigation, the researchers treated human colorectal cancer cells with chemotherapy in a petri dish in the laboratory. The treatment induced a slow-dividing state across all the cancer cells in which they stopped expanding and required little nutrition to survive. The cancer cells remained in this state as long as the chemotherapy remained in the dish.

The cancer cells have adopted a strategy that is used by many mammal species to keep their embryos safe inside their bodies in times of extreme environmental conditions, such as brutal temperatures. When the conditions improve, the embryo is able to continue normal development, with no adverse effects on the pregnancy.

Once the cancer cells have achieved a low-energy state of existence, there is minimal cell division, greatly reduced metabolism, and embryo development is put on hold. 

Dr. O'Brien, who is a surgeon specializing in gastrointestinal cancer, explained that cancer cells under attack by the harsh chemotherapy environment are able to adopt the embryonic survival strategy.

"The cancer cells are able to hijack this evolutionarily conserved survival strategy, even as it seems to be lost to humans," said Dr. O'Brien, adding that all of the cancer cells enter this state in a co-ordinated manner, in order to survive. She had a breakthrough when she remembered a talk three years ago on the cellular mechanisms which drive this survival strategy in mouse embryos.

"Something clicked for me when I heard that talk. Could the cancer cells be hijacking this survival mechanism to survive chemotherapy?"

In collaboration with Dr. Ramalho-Santos, a researcher at Toronto Mt. Sinai Hospital who had initially presented the concept, Dr. O'Brien found striking similarities between the gene expression profile of the cancer cells in the chemotherapy-induced state and the dormant mouse embryos.

Like the embryos, cancer cells in the slow-dividing state were found to activate the cellular process called autophagy. This is a process in which the cell "devours" or destroys its own proteins or other cellular components to survive in the absence of other nutrients.

When Dr. O'Brien tested a small molecule that inhibits autophagy, she discovered that the cancer cells did not survive. Without their protective mechanism, the cancer cells were killed by chemotherapy.

"This gives us a unique therapeutic opportunity," said Dr. O'Brien. "We need to target cancer cells while they are in this slow-cycling, vulnerable state before they acquire the genetic mutations that drive drug-resistance. It is a new way to think about resistance to chemotherapy and how to overcome it."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/">Cell</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Cancer cells hibernate like bears to survive chemotherapy

In a study from the Universal Health Network, a team...

Noncognitive skills contribute to personal success just as much as cognitive skills, according to a new study led by <a href="https://www.columbia.edu/">Columbia University</a>. An international team of researchers has investigated how cognitive skills influence educational attainment as well as life outcomes. 

Noncognitive skills, or "soft skills," are associated with <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/dog-personality-traits-change-over-time-but-not-at-the-same-pace/">personality</a> and temperament. These skills are related to inherent traits such as integrity, motivation, and perseverance.  

"There has been much debate about what noncognitive skills are and how best to measure them. Motivation, persistence, grit, curiosity, self-control, growth mindset - these are just a few of the things that people have suggested are important noncognitive skills," said Professor Paige Harden.

The research supports the idea that inherited genes that affect things other than cognitive ability make an important difference in life outcomes, including educational attainment.

"Genetic studies of educational attainment were initiated with the goal of identifying genes that influenced cognitive abilities. They've had some success in doing that. But it turns out they've also identified genetics that influence a range of other skills and characteristics.," said Dr. Daniel Belsky. 

"What was most surprising to me about our results was that these noncognitive skills contributed just as much to the heritability of educational attainment as cognitive ability." 

Of the total genetic influence on educational attainment, cognitive abilities accounted for 43 percent and noncognitive skills accounted for 57 percent.

The genetics of noncognitive skills were linked to achievements beyond school, including more prestigious jobs, higher incomes, and longer lifespan. Furthermore, genes associated with noncognitive skills had relationships with these life outcomes that were as strong or stronger than the relationships seen with cognitive genetics. 

"These results were important proof of concept," said Dr. Belsky. "They showed us that noncognitive skills genetics have implications for economics and public health similar to the genetics of cognitive abilities."

Noncognitive skills are behaviors and abilities that are not measured by traditional IQ tests but are believed to promote personal success throughout life. The researchers measured these skills using a method called a genome-wide association study (GWAS). The team also applied a new statistical technique to examine the significance of noncognitive skills versus cognitive ability.

"Borrowing a strategy from economists who studied people with the same cognitive ability but different years of education enabled us to associate the variations in how far people go in school above and beyond their association with cognitive test performance. We were able to conduct this type of analysis using a new method we developed called Genomic Structural Equation Modeling, which is a way of combining data from multiple GWASs at the same time," said Professor Michel Nivard.

"This approach allows us to leverage the power of giant genetic databases like UK Biobank to study the genetics of traits and behaviors that were not directly measured in the research participants." 

The researchers used the novel technique to conduct a GWAS of noncognitive skills in data from hundreds of thousands of individuals.

"Our GWAS identified 157 different locations in the human genome that related to noncognitive skills," said study co-lead author Perline Demange. "Our GWAS identified signals from genes that are disproportionately active in brain tissues, similar to what has been found for the genetics of cognitive abilities."

Overall, the genetics of noncognitive skills were associated with a higher tolerance of risks, greater willingness to forego immediate gratification, less unhealthy behavior, and delayed fertility. Noncognitive skill genetics were also linked with personality traits associated with success in relationships and at work, such as being eager to learn, emotionally stable, and more industrious and orderly.

"Genetic influence must always be understood through the lens of history and social structures," said Professor Harden. "These results tell us about what is, not what could be. Nothing about our study should discourage investments in ensuring that all children reach their maximum potential."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/ng">Nature Genetics</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Noncognitive skills contribute as much to success as cognitive ability

Noncognitive skills contribute to personal success just as much as...

In a new study from <a href="https://www.ucsc.edu/">UC Santa Cruz</a>, experts have discovered that groundwater has a much greater impact on ocean chemistry than what was expected. Even though groundwater flows into <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/antarctic-icebergs-affect-seawater-and-ocean-currents-far-from-the-continent/">seawater</a> along coastlines all over the world, its contribution to the chemical properties of the ocean has been largely overlooked. 

The findings have implications for global models of biogeochemical cycles and for the interpretation of isotope records of Earth's climate history.

"It's really hard to characterize groundwater discharge, so it has been a source of uncertainty in the modeling of global cycles," said study first author Kimberley Mayfield. "It took a large effort by researchers around the world who came together to make this happen."

The investigation was focused on five key elements including lithium, magnesium, calcium, strontium, and barium. The researchers measured the concentrations and isotope ratios in coastal groundwater at 20 sites around the world, and used previously published data from additional sites.

"Those elements are important because they come from the weathering of rocks, and weathering of silicate rocks accounts for a huge uptake of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere over long time scales," explained Mayfield.

According to study co-author Adina Paytan, a research professor in UCSC's Institute of Marine Sciences, groundwater is an important source of inputs to the oceans, but has been easy to ignore because it is unseen and hard to measure.

"This is the first global assessment of groundwater discharge for most of these elements," said Professor Paytan. "This information is useful for our understanding of how weathering of rock is related to climate, not only in the present but also in the past."

The researchers estimated that up to 16 percent of these elements are entering the sea through groundwater. The results also showed that the isotopic composition of groundwater discharge can be different from that of rivers.

"The composition of groundwater discharge is very dependent on coastal geology, whereas river water is more influenced by the interiors of continents," said Mayfield. "It's important to recognize that groundwater makes a difference globally, and now that we have this large data set, people can keep improving it with more sampling and develop better models of global groundwater discharge."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/ncomms">Nature Communications</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Groundwater has a larger impact on ocean chemistry than expected

In a new study from UC Santa Cruz, experts have...

While it is known that sleep is critical for healthy <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/research-confirms-that-covid-19-enters-the-brain/">brain</a> function, it is not known when animals started to require sleep. A surprising new study from <a href="https://www.kyushu-u.ac.jp/en/">Kyushu University</a> suggests that animals needed sleep before they even had brains. 

The investigation was focused on hydras - tiny freshwater organisms that lack a central nervous system. The researchers discovered that not only do hydras show signs of a sleep-like state despite having no brain, but also respond to molecules associated with sleep in more evolved animals.

"We now have strong evidence that animals must have acquired the need to sleep before acquiring a brain," said study lead author Professor Taichi Q. Itoh.

Three years ago, scientists at Caltech were the first to document sleeping behavior in a brainless animal, the Cassiopea jellyfish, a relative of hydras that is also known as the upside-down jellyfish.

In collaboration with experts at the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology in Korea, the Kyushu team found that several chemicals which cause drowsiness even in humans had similar effects on the species Hydra vulgaris.

"Based on our findings and previous reports regarding jellyfish, we can say that sleep evolution is independent of brain evolution," said Professor Itoh.

"Many questions still remain regarding how sleep emerged in animals, but hydras provide an easy-to-handle creature for further investigating the detailed mechanisms producing sleep in brainless animals to help possibly one day answer these questions."

To monitor resting behavior among hydras, the researchers used a video system to track their movement and determine when hydras they were in a sleep-like state. 

The hydras displayed four-hour cycles of active and sleep-like states. The researchers uncovered many aspects of sleep regulation that were similar to that of animals who do possess a brain on a molecular and genetic level.

Melatonin moderately increased the amount and frequency of sleep among hydras, while the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA greatly increased sleeping activity.

When the hydras were exposed to dopamine, they also slept more. In humans and other animals, dopamine typically causes arousal. "While some sleep mechanisms appear to have been conserved, others may have switched function during evolution of the brain," explained Professor Itoh.

The researchers used vibrations and temperature changes to disturb the hydras' sleep and induce signs of sleep deprivation. This caused the hydras to sleep longer during the following day and even suppressed cell proliferation.

Upon further analysis, the experts found that sleep deprivation led to changes in the expression of 212 genes. One of these genes in particular is related to PRKG, a protein involved in sleep regulation in a wide range of animals.

"Taken all together, these experiments provide strong evidence that animals acquired sleep-related mechanisms before the evolutional development of the central nervous system and that many of these mechanisms were conserved as brains evolved," said Professor Itoh.

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://advances.sciencemag.org/">Science Advances</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Animals needed sleep before they even had brains

While it is known that sleep is critical for healthy...

Scientists at the <a href="https://www.ubc.ca/">University of British Columbia</a> are working to understand how gill development limits fish growth. The temperature of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/the-oceans-absorb-much-more-carbon-than-previously-thought/">oceans</a> and fresh waters, as well as the concentration of dissolved oxygen, have much more influence on the growth and reproduction of fish than the distribution of their prey.

Daniel Pauly is the principal investigator of the Sea Around Us initiative at UBC's Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries. He argues that scientists need to avoid attaching human attributes to fish and start looking at their unique biology and constraints in a different way. 

Pauly has proposed the Gill Oxygen Limitation Theory (GOLT), which explains kthat as fish grow, the surface area of their gills cannot keep up with the oxygen requirement of their bodies.

The theory emphasizes that gills, which are the respiratory organs of fish, are surfaces through which water must flow. Gill surface area grows in two dimensions, length and width, but struggles to keep up with bodies that grow in three dimensions, length, width, and depth. Therefore, as fish get bigger, they have less gill surface area and their gills provide less oxygen per unit volume or weight.

"The problem is that many colleagues fail to understand the basic geometry of gills, and argue that, as fish grow bigger and, thus, require more oxygen, they can just grow larger gills," said Pauly. "But they can't pack their heads full of gills because, if that were to happen, water wouldn't be able to flow through."

The research indicates that the gill issue is a constraint that fish can evolve past. Once the gills reach a threshold where they cannot support a bigger body, the fish stop growing.

"This is particularly important in the context of climate change because warm waters contain less oxygen. This means that gills have less oxygen to supply to bodies that require more oxygen at higher temperatures," said Pauly. "This double whammy occurs because fish cannot maintain their body temperature constant, and higher water temperatures accelerate their metabolisms."

In rising water temperatures, with less oxygen available, fish are forced to stop growing at a smaller size. This has important implications for fisheries and aquaculture.

Pauly acknowledges that one of the limitations of the Gill Oxygen Limitation Theory is that it is mainly qualitative and makes few quantitative predictions. He would like to address this, as well as the fact that the theory does not deal with bioenergetics and the role food plays in the life of fish.

"Food is necessary for life and the GOLT is structured around the notion that there is enough food but what if there isn't enough food? The relationships between food and oxygen will have to be studied, too."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://advances.sciencemag.org/">Science Advances</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Gill development and water temperatures limit fish growth

Scientists at the University of British Columbia are working to...

According to a new study led by the <a href="https://iiasa.ac.at/">International Institute of Applied Systems Analysis</a>, human activities are transforming grasslands from a natural carbon sink into a source of greenhouse gas emissions. The researchers describe how grasslands used by humans have changed our <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/mangrove-forests-in-oman-were-wiped-out-by-climate-change/">climate</a> over the last centuries.

Grasslands absorb and release carbon dioxide (CO2), and emit methane (CH4) from grazing livestock. They also emit nitrous oxide (N2O) from soils, and these emissions increase when manure or mineral fertilizers are introduced. 

Despite their significance, however, little is known about how the fluxes of these three greenhouse gases have contributed to climate change in the past. The researchers also wanted to compare the gas cycling and climate effects of managed pastures to that of natural grasslands.

To investigate, the experts quantified the changes in carbon storage and greenhouse gas fluxes in natural and managed grasslands between 1750 and 2012. 

The findings illustrate the important climate cooling service provided by sparsely grazed areas, as well as the growing contribution to climate warming from continuously grazed areas. These intensively exploited grasslands are associated with more CH4 and N2O emissions.

"We built and applied a new spatially explicit global grassland model that includes mechanisms of soil organic matter and plant productivity changes driven by historical shifts in livestock and the reduction of wild grazers in each region," said study lead author Jinfeng Chang. "This model is one of the first to simulate the regional details of land use change and degradation from livestock overload."

"We also looked at the effect of fires, and soil carbon losses by water erosion; CH4 emissions from animals; N2O emissions from animal excrement, manure, and mineral fertilizer applications; and atmospheric nitrogen deposition."

The study revealed that CH4 and N2O emissions from grasslands increased by a factor of 2.5 since 1750. This is due to higher emissions from livestock that have more than compensated for reduced emissions from the shrinking number of wild grazers. 

The ability of grasslands to absorb carbon has grown over the last century over sparsely grazed and natural grasslands, but these gains are outweighed by emissions from managed pastures. Over the last decade, grasslands intensively managed by humans have become a net source of greenhouse gas emissions.

"Our results show that the different human activities that have affected grasslands have shifted the balance of greenhouse gas removals and emissions more towards warming in intensively exploited pastures, and more towards cooling in natural and semi-natural systems," explained study co-author Thomas Gasser. "Coincidently, until recently the two types of grasslands have almost been canceling each other out."

"However, the recent trends we see towards the expansion of pasture land and higher livestock numbers lead us to expect that global grasslands will accelerate climate warming if better policies are not put in place to favor soil carbon increases, stop deforestation for ranching, and develop climate-smart livestock production systems."

"In the context of low-warming climate targets, the mitigating or amplifying role of grasslands will depend on a number of aspects," concluded study co-author Philippe Ciais. "This includes future changes in grass-fed livestock numbers; the stability of accumulated soil carbon in grasslands; and whether carbon storage can be further increased over time or if it will saturate, as observed in long-term experiments."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/ncomms">Nature Communications</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Grasslands are turning into a source of harmful emissions

According to a new study led by the International Institute...

Scientists at <a href="https://www.colorado.edu/">CU Boulder</a> have discovered that cyanobacteria, also known as blue-green algae, may have a lot in common with organisms that fundamentally transformed the planet billions of years ago. 

Cyanobacteria are single-celled, photosynthetic organisms that can be found in almost any large body of water today. More than two billion years ago, these microscopic organisms played a major role in the history of life on Earth during a period known as the Great Oxidation Event. At this time, cyanobacteria generated a major surge in oxygen throughout the shallow ocean.

"We see this total shift in the chemistry of the oceans and the atmosphere, which changed the evolution of life, as well," said study lead author Sarah Hurley. "Today, all higher animals need oxygen to survive."

It remains a mystery to scientists what cyanobacteria looked like, where they lived, or what triggered them to suddenly and dramatically oxygenate the ocean. 

But now, Hurley and her colleagues have begun to unravel this mystery. After analyzing studies of naturally-occurring and genetically-engineered cyanobacteria, the researchers propose that these ancient microbes may have floated freely in an open ocean and resembled a modern form of life called beta-cyanobacteria.

According to the researchers, studying these ancient microorganisms offers a window into a time when single-celled organisms ruled the Earth.

"This research gave us the unique opportunity to form and test hypotheses of what the ancient Earth might have looked like, and what these ancient organisms could have been," said study co-author Professor Jeffrey Cameron.

Hurley noted that cyanobacteria currently produce about a quarter of the oxygen that comes from the world's oceans.

"We think that cyanobacteria were around billions of years ago," said Hurley. "Now, we can get at what they were doing and where they were living at that time because we have a record of their metabolism."

The team studied two different types of cyanobacteria, including beta-cyanobacteria, which are common in the oceans today. The researchers also attempted to bring an ancient cyanobacterium back from the dead. 

"We had the ability to do what was essentially a physiological resurrection in the lab," said study co-author Professor Boswell Wing.

When the researchers studied the metabolism of their cultures, they found something surprising. The zombie cyanobacterium did not seem to produce a chemical signature that aligned with the carbon isotope signatures that scientists had previously seen in the rock record. It turned out that the best fit for those ancient signatures were the beta-cyanobacteria the are still alive today. 

In other words, the team may have just stumbled on a living fossil that was hiding in plain sight. 

"That modern organisms could resemble these ancient cyanobacteria - that was really counterintuitive," said Professor Wing.

According to the researchers, the study now provides scientists with a much better idea of what ancient cyanobacteria looked like and where they lived. This means they can begin running experiments to dig deeper into what life was like in the two billion-year-old ocean.

"Here is hard evidence from the geological record and a model organism that can shed new light on life on ancient Earth," said Professor Cameron.

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://advances.sciencemag.org/">Science Advances</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Cyanobacteria may shed new light on the history of life on Earth

Scientists at CU Boulder have discovered that cyanobacteria, also known...

Over most of the last decade, sea star populations worldwide have been nearly wiped out by a mysterious ailment known as sea star wasting disease. Some starfish species may have suffered irreversible losses, and are now threatened with <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/one-third-of-oak-tree-species-are-threatened-with-extinction/">extinction</a>.

In a new study led by <a href="https://www.cornell.edu/">Cornell University</a>, researchers have found evidence to suggest that the victims of sea star wasting disease (SSWD) may actually be in respiratory distress. The experts report that afflicted starfish appear to be literally "drowning" in their own environment due to a heat-related increase in microbial activity that deprives the creatures of their ability to breathe.

"As humans, we breathe, we ventilate, we bring air into our lungs and we exhale," said study co-author Professor Ian Hewson. "Sea stars diffuse oxygen over their outer surface through little structures called papulae, or skin gills. If there is not enough oxygen surrounding the papulae, the starfish can't breathe."

According to Professor Hewson, warmer ocean conditions lead to the production of unusual amounts of organic material, which he said prompts bacteria to thrive. The bacteria deplete oxygen in the water as they consume the organic matter. This creates a low-oxygen environment that causes the starfish "wasting" characterized by deflation, discoloration, puffiness, and limb twisting.

"It's a cascade of problems that starts with changes in the environment," said Professor Hewson, noting that most of the organic matter comes from microscopic algae discharge, zooplankton excretion, and from decaying animal carcasses. He explained that this stimulates a group of bacteria called copiotrophs, which survive on carbon and rapidly consume organic matter.

The copiotrophs respire, so while absorbing the organic matter, they deplete oxygen in the sea star's watery space, explained Professor Hewson.

"It's organic matter concentrations in the water. If you have a dead and rotting starfish next to starfish that are healthy, all of that dead one's organic matter drifts and fuels the bacteria, creating a hypoxic environment. It looks like disease is being transmitted."

"This reframes the discussion about marine disease ecology, which has focused on pathogenic disease. We should now include microorganisms that don't directly cause the pathology, since they may hold a key to affecting sea star health."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology">Frontiers in Microbiology</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Sea stars are drowning in their own environment

Over most of the last decade, sea star populations worldwide...

Children with self-control are more likely to grow up to be healthier <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/many-young-adults-do-not-know-common-stroke-symptoms/">adults</a> with younger brains and bodies, according to a new study from <a href="https://duke.edu/">Duke University</a>. The researchers tracked 1,000 individuals from birth to age 45 and found that people who had higher levels of self-control as children were aging more slowly than their peers. 

Self-control is the ability to control one's own emotions and behaviors, even when faced with difficult situations. Interviews with the study participants indicated that those in the higher self-control group were better equipped to handle health, financial, and social challenges later in life. 

Furthermore, individuals who had more self control in childhood expressed more positive views of aging and felt more satisfied with life in middle age.

"Our population is growing older, and living longer with age-related diseases," said study first author Professor Leah Richmond-Rakerd. "It's important to identify ways to help individuals prepare successfully for later-life challenges, and live more years free of disability. We found that self-control in early life may help set people up for healthy aging."

The researchers emphasized that childhood is not destiny, and that some study participants had shifted their self-control levels as adults and had better health outcomes than their childhood assessments would have predicted.

Self-control can be taught, and the experts propose that a societal investment in such training could improve life span and quality of life, not only in childhood, but also perhaps in midlife. A growing collection of evidence suggests that changing behaviors in midlife, such as quitting smoking or taking up exercise, can lead to improved outcomes.

"Everyone fears an old age that's sickly, poor, and lonely, so aging well requires us to get prepared, physically, financially, and socially," said study co-author Professor Terrie Moffitt. "We found people who have used self-control since childhood are far more prepared for aging than their same-age peers."

The Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study, based in New Zealand, has tracked the individuals since they were born in 1972 and 1973. The participants were assessed using a variety of psychological and health assessments at regular intervals, most recently at age 45.

Childhood self-control was assessed by teachers, parents, and the children themselves from the ages of three to 11. The experts measured factors such as impulsive aggression, over-activity, perseverance, and inattention.

From ages 26 to 45, the participants were measured for physiological signs of aging in several organ systems, including the brain. Across all of these measures, higher self-control in childhood was associated with slower aging. In addition, the people with the highest self-control were found to walk faster and have younger-looking faces at age 45.

The study is published in the <a href="https://www.pnas.org/">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Self-control in childhood linked to slower aging

Children with self-control are more likely to grow up to...

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



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



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



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



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



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



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Worms dominated seas before dinosaurs

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



The full study was published in the journal Current Biology.



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Earth's oldest forest found in the United States

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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The environmental problem we actually solved

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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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What to plant in your garden in mid-July

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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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-----

Wildlife tunnels save millions of amphibians

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

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



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



<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;



---



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;



---



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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

Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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