Once upon a time, you went to a florist for a bouquet. Now you can grab one next to the spinach, at the pharmacy counter, even by the chips at a gas station. As fresh flowers have spilled out of specialty shops and into everyday retail, their place in our lives - and who’s buying them - has changed fast.



Researchers at the <a href="https://www.caes.uga.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Georgia</a> College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences wanted to know what, exactly, is going on. They teamed up across horticulture and agricultural economics to look not just at what people buy, but why they buy it, how often, and what those habits reveal about the modern consumer.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-flowers-move-beyond-florists">Flowers move beyond florists</h2>



Drawing on a nationally representative survey of more than 8,500 people, the team found remarkable variety rather than a single archetype. Using marketing-style cluster analysis, they identified 13 distinct kinds of flower buyers.



Some are the classic date-night crowd: heavy on roses, big on Valentine’s Day. Others show up once a year for anniversaries and otherwise keep their wallets shut. 



A growing slice is buying flowers solely for themselves - home-use-only shoppers who treat stems like candles or throw pillows, a mood boost for the living room. And then there’s the “everything” group: people who purchase for all kinds of occasions and tend to spend the most overall.



Ask people what flowers mean and the responses span the spectrum. Word clouds from open-ended answers lit up with “beauty” and “smell,” but also “expensive” and “waste.”



Even so, buyers describe tangible upsides. Those who’d purchased flowers in the past year were more likely to report feeling better at home and at work - <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/simple-and-self-guided-nature-program-quickly-improves-mood-and-reduces-stress/">improved mood</a>, less stress, higher morale. The effect was strongest among recent purchasers.



As agricultural economist Ben Campbell put it, “there’s a perceived benefit of buying flowers - whether it’s real or not. People feel they’re getting something valuable from the experience.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-covid-changed-how-we-buy-flowers">Covid changed how we buy flowers</h2>



Behind the scenes, the cut-flower supply chain is both global and intricate. Imports - especially roses from Colombia - still dominate U.S. shelves. But the domestic picture has shifted in surprising ways.



When <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/covid-19-lockdowns-weakened-our-immune-systems/">COVID-19</a> hit, weddings and funerals vanished overnight. Growers plowed under fields. Florists closed their doors. And then, stuck at home, people started buying flowers anyway - to brighten kitchen tables and Zoom backgrounds, to mark time when weeks blurred together. Grocery stores and even convenience stores leaned into the demand.



“It became almost like therapy,” said Julie Campbell, the study’s lead author and a horticulture professor. “The habit stuck around.”



That collective turn inward sparked new growth outdoors. From 2017 to 2022, open-field flower acreage in the U.S. more than doubled. Much of that expansion came from small and mid-sized farms growing stems that don’t ship well - zinnias, dahlias, snapdragons - varieties that explode with color but wilt on long-haul flights. 



Rather than compete with mass-produced roses from the Andes, these growers staked out a complementary niche: seasonal, local, and often more diverse.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-local-farms-find-their-niche">Local farms find their niche</h2>



Today’s bouquets are often a collage of origins. One sleeve might hold Ecuadorian roses, California ranunculus, and Georgia-grown <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/urban-wildflowers-may-be-harming-bees/">wildflowers</a>, all in the same mix.



Consumers seem comfortable with that blend, and many are learning to read seasonality the way they do with produce: peonies in late spring, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sunflower-family-tree-explains-evolution-of-flower-symmetry/">sunflowers</a> in midsummer, chrysanthemums in fall.



For domestic growers, that seasonality is an advantage. It allows them to sell what travels poorly and tell a fresher story - field to vase instead of farm to table. For retailers, it’s an opportunity to meet shoppers where they already are.



The UGA study suggests that people inclined to toss a bouquet in the cart also value other small home upgrades. In other words, flowers are converging with the broader “home as haven” mindset that accelerated during the pandemic and never really retreated.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-flowers-are-no-longer-just-gifts">Flowers are no longer just gifts</h2>



If there’s one throughline in the data, it’s diversity of intent. Flowers are still gifts, of course, but self-purchase is no longer niche. 



The “everything” buyers - those who grab stems for birthdays, apologies, Tuesdays, and everything in between - anchor the market, yet the once-a-year romantics and the treat-yourself crowd matter too.



That mix is why bouquets now show up in so many retail formats. A pharmacy endcap might catch the anniversary buyer; a grocery display might tempt the self-care shopper who wants tulips with their tomatoes.



It also helps explain the emotional payoffs respondents described. <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/flower-quality-is-a-critical-driver-of-bee-abundance/">Fresh flowers</a> are a fast, visible change in a room and an affordable luxury compared to furniture or renovations. That hit of beauty, scent, and novelty can feel outsize relative to the spend, which reinforces repeat purchases.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-where-the-industry-goes-next"><a></a>Where the industry goes next</h2>



Policy and logistics will continue to shape the landscape - trade agreements, air freight costs, and climate impacts all ripple into what appears in the bucket by the checkout. But the UGA team’s work points to a few practical implications now.



Retailers can segment more intelligently, tailoring assortments and messaging to different buyer types rather than assuming a single use case. 



Growers can lean into their strengths - distinctive, local, and seasonal - without trying to displace imports that excel at year-round volume. And marketers can speak to well-being without overpromising: flowers won’t solve life’s problems, but they routinely make spaces feel better, and people notice.



Perhaps the biggest takeaway is the simplest: Americans are still buying flowers - and not just to hand to someone else.



Whether it’s a dozen <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/why-do-delicate-roses-have-such-harsh-prickles/">roses</a> flown in from Colombia or a handful of dahlias clipped from a nearby farm, fresh stems have become an everyday indulgence. They sit by the sink, brighten a desk, bookend the produce aisle, and remind us, in small ways, why bringing a bit of the outside in still resonates.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://journals.ashs.org/view/journals/horttech/35/3/article-p286.xml" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">HortTechnology</a>.



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Why more people are buying flowers for everyday therapy

Once upon a time, you went to a florist for a bouquet. Now you can grab one next to the spinach, at the pharmacy counter, even by the chips at a gas station. As fresh flowers have spilled out of specialty shops and into everyday retail, their place in our lives - and who’s buying them - has changed fast. Researchers at the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences wanted to know what, exactly, is going on. They teamed up across horticulture and agricultural...

A new study published in the journal <a href="https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/nph.17904">New Phytologist</a> has investigated how changes in temperature affect the height of sorghum plants. The research is shedding new light on the mechanisms which determine how <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/genetics-not-environmental-stress-increases-thc-in-hemp/">genetics</a> interact with changing environmental conditions during crucial developmental stages in plants – a process called “phenotypic plasticity.”



According to a team of researchers led by <a href="https://www.iastate.edu/">Iowa State University</a>, understanding phenotypic plasticity will not only shed more light on the mechanisms that play a critical role in plant growth, but will also help plant breeders design more resilient crop varieties that perform well under a variety of environmental conditions.&nbsp;



In order to clarify this intricate process, the scientists examined the growth rate of sorghum, a globally cultivated cereal crop, during a critical stage of development (40 to 53 days after planting), by measuring plant height at several points during the growth season, over multiple years. Then, they applied statistical regression analyses to clarify the relationship between height and diurnal temperature change (the difference in temperature between daytime highs and nighttime lows). The database the researchers used was highly substantial, including 3,500 phenotype records collected in four years, which were further validated with 13,500 records in another four years.



The results suggest that increase in diurnal temperature change tended to produce shorter plants. “We found that these genes actually interact with environmental stimuli and control the maximum growth rate as well as time to reach maximum growth rate,” said study first author Qi Mu, a postdoctoral research associate in Agronomy. “And that eventually determines the final plant height.”&nbsp;



According to Dr. Mu and her colleagues, climate change increases the urgency to understand phenotypic plasticity, since it causes more volatile swings in weather, and thus influences the development of crops. Research into phenotypic plasticity will allow plant breeders to develop more efficient tools for predicting how different types of crops will perform across a variety of environmental conditions.



“With climate change, crops need to adapt to different climates and environments. In order to breed crops that are more adaptive we have to understand the mechanism of how they respond to environments. With that knowledge, we can design resilient crops that thrive in future environments,” Dr. Mu concluded.&nbsp;



---



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

Genetics and the environment interact in plant development

A new study published in the journal New Phytologist has...

A research-industry collaboration has developed an innovative and environmentally friendly method for combating a variety of severe crop diseases using native, beneficial soil bacteria.&nbsp;



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/some-plants-wont-survive-the-loss-of-seed-dispersing-animals/">Plant</a> infections and crop diseases are major agricultural issues that can decimate crop yields, and scientists are working to find sustainable solutions. Streptomyces scabies, a bacterial pathogen that produces potato scab, and Phytophthora infestans, an oomycete disease that causes potato blight, are major potato infections and were significant causes of the Great Famine in Ireland.&nbsp;



The <a href="https://www.jic.ac.uk/">John Innes Centre</a> team extracted and analyzed hundreds of Pseudomonas bacteria strains collected from the soil in a commercial potato field and conducted genome sequencing on 69 of them.



The researchers were able to uncover a crucial mechanism in some of the strains that protected the potato crop from hazardous disease-causing bacteria by comparing the genomes of those demonstrated to decrease pathogen activity with those that did not.



The agri-tech breakthrough aims to provide farmers with a means to lower the expense and reduce the environmental impact of chemical crop disease treatments that are widely used.



“The massive advantage of this approach is that we are using bacterial strains that are taken from the environment and put back in the same specific biological context in larger numbers so there is no ecological damage," said study co-author Dr Jacob Malone.



Using a mix of chemistry, genetics, and plant infection experiments, the researchers demonstrated the creation of tiny molecules known as cyclic lipopeptides, which is vital in the control of potato scab. This particular bacterial disease causes significant losses in potato yields.



The lipopeptides are tiny compounds which have an antibiotic impact on the pathogenic bacteria that cause potato scab, and they aid in the movement and colonization of the plant roots by the protective Pseudomonas bacteria.



The study offers a strategy for screening the microbiome of nearly any crop site, taking into consideration different soil, agronomic, and environmental circumstances.&nbsp;



“By identifying and validating mechanisms of potato pathogen suppression we hope that our study will accelerate the development of biological control agents to reduce the application of chemical treatments which are ecologically damaging." said study first author Dr. Alba Pacheco-Moreno.



“The approach we describe should be applicable to a wide range of plant diseases because it is based on understanding the mechanisms of action that are important for biological control agents."



The technique involves scanning the soil microbiome for therapeutic bacteria to determine which chemicals are being created to suppress pathogenic bacteria by utilizing breakthroughs in high-speed genetic sequencing. This method can also show how these beneficial soil bacteria are affected by agronomic factors such as soil type and irrigation.



According to the study, irrigation induces significant alterations in the genetically varied Pseudomonas population in the soil. The next step for the new approach is to put the beneficial bugs back into the same field in greater numbers or in cocktails of mixed strains as a soil microbiome boosting treatment.



The bacterial combinations could be introduced to the fields as seed coatings, as a spray, or by drip irrigation to improve the microbiome.



“In the future <s>&nbsp;</s>it's not the molecule produced by the bacteria that we would use, it would be the Pseudomonas strain itself," said study co-author Dr. Andrew Truman.



"It offers a more sustainable route - we know these bacteria colonize the soil where potatoes grow, and they provide protection to the crop. Using a bacterium, you can easily grow and formulate it in an appropriate way and apply it to the field, and it is much greener than using a synthetic chemical.”&nbsp;



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://elifesciences.org/">eLife</a>.



---



By <a href="http://mailto:ashikha92@gmail.com">Ashikha Raoof</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Soil bacteria can help farmers control crop diseases

A research-industry collaboration has developed an innovative and environmentally friendly...

New research led by the <a href="https://www.washington.edu/">University of Washington</a> has found that a substance in pomegranates called “urolithin A” could be used to create novel anti-aging treatments that strengthen muscles and mitochondrial health and thus protect against frailty in old <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/space-travel-may-cause-premature-aging/">age</a>.



Urolithin A is a by-product of a person’s gut bacteria and a diet rich in polyphenols – substances found in pomegranates, berries, and nuts. Since several factors, including age, diet, genetics, or illness, affect the composition of the gut microbiome, people produce urolithin A at different rates. Now, this substance is also available in pill and powder supplements found in health food stores.



Both in its natural and synthetic form, urolithin A boosts the mitochondria – our cell’s “power stations” – which tend to run down with age, causing muscle weakening and frailty. According to scientists, urolithin A helps the body recycle mitochondria by stimulating a process called mitophagy.



“Mitochondria&nbsp;are like batteries that power the cells in your body,” said study senior author David Marcinek, an expert in the role of mitochondria in human metabolism at the University of Washington.



“But over time, they break down. The process of mitophagy recognizes this failure and proactively tears down the mitochondria, reducing it to elemental components that a cell can reuse. But with aging, mitophagy becomes less efficient and your body accumulates this pool of failing mitochondria. It’s one way that muscles become less functional as we age.”



Professor Marcinek and his colleagues enrolled 66 participants who randomly received either 1,000 mg of an urolithin supplement daily for four months or a placebo. At the beginning of the experiment, they had lower levels of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), a substance produced by mitochondria that helps cell function properly.



The scientists found that the supplement group’s fitness and ATP production improved significantly after the treatment, suggesting that urolithin A may indeed help restore bodily capacities in the elderly.



“Even though we did not observe an effect of the supplement in whole body function,” Professor Marcinek said, “these results are still exciting because they demonstrate that just taking a supplement for a short duration actually improved muscle endurance. Fatigue resistance got better in the absence of exercise.”



“I think these changes suggest that&nbsp;the treatment affects&nbsp;the metabolic condition of people. Even though it didn’t affect the maximum ATP production, it improved test subjects’ general metabolism. Just getting them over that point where exercise is possible – a walk around the block or climbing some stairs – might help a person build their own health,” he concluded.&nbsp;



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2788244?utm_source=For_The_Media&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=ftm_links&amp;utm_term=012022">JAMA Network Open</a>.



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

Pomegranates contain an anti-aging substance

New research led by the University of Washington has found...

Healthy,Food,,Plate,With,Greek,Salad,Of,Mediterranean,Diet,,Tomatoes

A new study shows that adults 65 and older who follow the Mediterranean diet live longer. Interestingly, adherence to the Mediterranean diet was assessed by analyzing biomarkers in plasma and urine, which is a unique approach.



Professor Cristina Andrés-Lacueva is head of the Research Group on Biomarkers and Nutritional &amp; Food Metabolomics of the Faculty of Pharmacy and Food Sciences of the <a href="https://www.ub.edu/web/portal/en/">University of Barcelona</a> (UB) and the CIBER on Fragility and Healthy Ageing (CIBERFES).



According to Professor Andrés-Lacueva, her team developed an index of dietary biomarkers based on <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/air-pollutants-confuse-pollinators-and-reduce-food-production/">food</a> groups that are part of the Mediterranean diet, and then assessed their association with mortality. Professor Andrés-Lacueva is also head of the research group in Ciber on Fragility and Healthy Aging (CIBERFES).



The research was carried out over 20 years, using data from 642 participants who were 65 years and older and resided in the Tuscany region of Italy.&nbsp;



The scientists looked at the following biomarkers: polyphenols and resveratrol metabolites (from grape consumption), plasma carotenoids, selenium, vitamin B12, fatty acids and the proportion of monounsaturated and saturated fatty acids.&nbsp;



Using a model and a food questionnaire, the scientists were able to ascertain how closely each participant followed a Mediterranean diet. During the course of the twenty-year study, 425 participants died - 139 from cardiovascular disease and 89 from cancer related causes.&nbsp;



When analyzed, the biomarkers associated with a Mediterranean diet were inversely related to all causes of death. This means that the health benefits of a Mediterranean diet can boost longevity.



Tomás Meroño, co-first signatory of the study, said the study confirms that adherence to the Mediterranean diet (assessed by a panel of dietary biomarkers) is inversely associated with the long-term mortality in older adults, which supports the use of these biomarkers in monitoring evaluations to study the health benefits associated with the Mediterranean diet.



"A healthy diet is considered one of the fundamental factors to achieve healthy aging," wrote the study authors. "Indeed, a growing body of epidemiological evidence shows that the Mediterranean diet (MD) may delay or prevent frailty, cognitive decline, and the onset of many chronic diseases in older subjects."&nbsp;



"Furthermore, several observational studies, including the European Prospective study into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC)-elderly study, a cohort of 74,607 men and women aged ≥60 years, have shown inverse associations between a greater adherence to different MD scores (MDS), in both the Mediterranean and non-Mediterranean countries, and total mortality."



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://bmcmedicine.biomedcentral.com/">BCM Medicine</a>.



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

Mediterranean diet can lead to longer life

A new study shows that adults 65 and older who...

In a recent study from <a href="https://www.ucr.edu/">UC Riverside</a> researchers investigated whether black-eyed peas had lost any of their ability to attract Bradyrhizobium (nitrogen-fixing bacteria from the soil) and establish them inside nodules in the roots. As black-eyed peas are an important crop in many parts of the world, this ability may have been lost during domestication or selective breeding over centuries.&nbsp;



All plants need nitrogen in order to form the proteins needed for growth. If there is not enough nitrogen present, plants will not grow successfully. Although the atmosphere contains around 80 percent nitrogen gas (N2), plants cannot use it in this form. Instead, it has to be “fixed” into the form of ammonia (NH3), nitrate (NO3-) or nitrite (NO2-). It is most often bacteria in the soil that fix nitrogen into these forms, thereby making essential nutrients available for absorption by plant roots.



Legumes, including crop plants such as peas, beans and lucerne, go a step further than this. They attract nitrogen-fixing bacteria by secreting enticing chemicals through their roots. Once bacteria have attached to the root hairs, the plant secretes different substances that the bacteria to enter root hair cells and travel into the main root. Once inside the root, the bacteria cause root cells to divide and form a tumor-like nodule which is where nitrogen-fixing activity can take place. &nbsp;



In the symbiotic relationship that ensues, the legume plants receive a useful, fixed form of nitrogen to use for growth, and the plants provide a supply of carbohydrates to the bacteria, along with a safe place to live.



“The ability of legumes to do this caused them immense success as the third biggest plant family on the planet,” said Joel Sachs, UCR professor of evolution and ecology.&nbsp;



Unfortunately, plant breeders often select intensely for above-ground characteristics of crop plants, such as their yield, disease resistance and protein content, when trying to improve the quality of the plants. They do not focus on the important ability of roots to attract bacteria and enter into a symbiotic relationship with them – something that is essential for the supply of nitrogen to the growing plants.



Study lead author Gabriel Ortiz wanted to find to find out whether modern farming practices had resulted in a loss of symbiotic ability in black-eyed pea plants. In many cases, plants heavily impacted by humans do not benefit as much from relationships with bacteria as their wild relatives do.&nbsp;



The researchers used genome-wide analyses, along with a greenhouse inoculation study, to investigate genomic diversity, heritability, and symbiosis trait variation among 20 different varieties of wild and early-domesticated black-eyed peas.&nbsp;



They found that, although there was evidence that the peas experienced modest decreases in genome diversity during early domestication, they had kept their natural ability to form beneficial symbiotic relationships with nitrogen-fixing bacteria. The experiments even showed that domesticated populations made more root nodules than wild varieties of black-eyed peas.&nbsp;



“In fact, some of the strains in the experiment appear to have gained more benefit from bacteria than their wild ancestors,” Sachs said.



The authors attribute this unexpected result to the fact that black-eyed pea landraces were developed in Africa where the low nutrient conditions would have favored plant genotypes that use symbiosis with nitrogen-fixing bacteria in an efficient manner. This implies that early breeders inadvertently selected for plants with excellent ability to attract and protect these symbiotic bacteria.&nbsp;



Modern breeders have largely neglected symbiosis traits when selectively breeding black-eyed peas, but future artificial selection for improved plant responses to nitrogen-fixing bacteria could increase plant performance and sustainability.



“We can use this information in the future to design better performing plants,” said Ortiz. He and his team focused on black-eyed peas because they are also drought tolerant, another important trait for Southern California growers.&nbsp;



Furthermore, farmers can use black-eyed pea crops to enrich their soil with nitrogen, rather than having to add inorganic fertilizer. When nitrogen fertilizer is applied it can end up being carried away with rain water and polluting rivers, lakes and oceans, or it can enter the atmosphere as a greenhouse gas.



“When the plant senses it is going to die, it releases the bacteria into the soil, replenishing it,” Ortiz explained. “Growers could alternate seasons of legumes with other crops, leaving the soil full of nitrogen-fixing bacteria that reduce the need for fertilizer.”



“To make agriculture more sustainable, one of the things we need to do is focus on the plant’s ability to get services from microbes already in the soil, rather than trying to get those services by dumping chemicals,” Sachs said.&nbsp;



The study is <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/evo.14424">published</a> in the journal&nbsp;<a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/15585646">Evolution</a>.



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

Black-eyed peas could reduce the need for fertilizer

In a recent study from UC Riverside researchers investigated whether...

Insects don’t have noses and are not able to “smell” the roses in the familiar sense of the word. Instead, most odor molecules are detected by chemoreceptors that occur on an insect’s antennae. Using these chemical receptors, insects are capable of perceiving and differentiating between thousands of&nbsp;airborne compounds. They use these chemical signals to locate forage <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/some-plants-wont-survive-the-loss-of-seed-dispersing-animals/">plants</a> and mates, as well as to avoid predators.



But now, new research indicates that common air pollutants present in rural and urban environments may be hampering the ability of insects to detect the chemical signals so crucial to their activity as pollinators.&nbsp;



A team of scientists from the <a href="http://www.reading.ac.uk/">University of Reading</a> has conducted the first study to observe that common air pollutants, including diesel exhaust fumes and ozone, have a negative impact on the success of pollination by insects.&nbsp;



“We knew from our previous lab studies that diesel exhaust can have negative effects on insect pollinators, but the impacts we found in the field were much more dramatic than we had expected," said Dr. Robbie Girling, who led the project.



These previous laboratory studies by members of the Reading team showed that&nbsp;chemicals in <a href="https://www.reading.ac.uk/news-archive/press-releases/pr649662.html">diesel fumes react with and can change the scents of flowers such that the insects cannot locate the flowers. </a>The research suggested that pollution could contribute to the ongoing declines in pollinating insects, by making it harder for them to locate the pollen and nectar that form their food.



In the new study, the researchers aimed to gather evidence showing how air pollution affects different species of pollinating insects, some of which rely on scent more heavily than others.



The study, funded by the Natural Environment Research Council, used a purpose-built fumigation facility to regulate levels of nitrogen oxides (NOx) – present in diesel exhaust fumes – and ozone in an open field environment. They then observed the effects these pollutants had on the pollination of black mustard plants by free-flying, locally-occurring pollinating insects over the course of two summer field seasons.



Although the experiments made use of pollution levels that were way below the maximum acceptable levels considered as safe in the US, the results of the field experiments were dramatic. The researchers observed 62 to 70 percent fewer pollinator visits to the plants located in polluted air. This reduction was seen in seven different groups of pollinators, including bees, moths, hoverflies and butterflies.&nbsp;



There were also 83 to 90 percent fewer visits to flowers by these insects, and ultimately a 14 to 31 percent reduction in pollination success, based on the measurement of seed yield and other factors.



“The findings are worrying because these pollutants are commonly found in the air many of us breathe every day," said Dr. James Ryalls. "We know that these pollutants are bad for our health, and the significant reductions we saw in pollinator numbers and activity shows that there are also clear implications for the natural ecosystems we depend on.”



Insects are important pollinators of crops upon which we depend for food and so a reduction in pollinating activity could have far-reaching economic and social consequences. Around 70 percent of crop species rely on insects for pollination; these include apples, strawberries and cocoa.&nbsp;



In addition, pollination supports around eight percent of the total value of agricultural food production, worldwide. The pollinating activity of insects thus generates hundreds of billions of pounds worth of economic value each year.&nbsp;



Furthermore, far higher levels of air pollutants are found in many areas around the world where people and businesses breach the regulations. For example, a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/air-pollution-england-defra-labour-who-nitrogen-dioxide-luke-pollard-b404484.html?r=55147">2019 analysis</a> recorded illegal levels of nitrogen dioxide present in local authorities, in large areas of northern England (including Cheshire and Gateshead), and in southern England (including Wiltshire, Chichester and rural areas such as the New Forest).



“This truly cross-disciplinary work demonstrated very clearly how atmospheric pollutants negatively impact on pollination with direct consequences for food production as well as the resilience of our natural environment," concluded study co-author Dr. Christian Pfrang.



Their results are published today in the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2022.118847">&nbsp;journal&nbsp;</a><a href="https://www.journals.elsevier.com/environmental-pollution">Environmental Pollution</a>.



---



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

Air pollutants confuse pollinators and reduce food production

Insects don’t have noses and are not able to “smell”...

The story goes that, in 1820, a farmworker in the fields around Debenham in Suffolk, spotted a spectacular ear of barley. John Andrews picked the ear and planted the seeds at home in his <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/urban-gardens-provide-a-reliable-food-supply-for-pollinators/">garden</a>. When his landlord, Charles Chevalier, saw the remarkable barley that grew from these seeds, he was impressed and wished to grow more of it. He harvested it and began to propagate more plants, calling the new variety “Chevalier.”



At the time, barley was very important in the malting process used in the brewing of beer and very soon the new variety was being grown widely. In fact, by the end of the 19th century more than 80% of all malting barley in England was of the Chevalier type. The properties of this variety were considered so superior that the name Chevalier became synonymous with malting barley.&nbsp;



The variety became popular around the world, including in Sweden, where it was cultivated and improved, using breeding techniques, during the second half of the 19th century.&nbsp; Today, Chevalier is part of the lineage of many modern malting barley varieties and beer brewers have begun to consider returning to the use of this type, as well as other classic varieties of barley.



This has led Swedish researchers from the universities of Linköping and Stockholm to investigate whether the Chevalier variety of barley did indeed originate from a single plant, as described anecdotally. They wished to clarify how this cultivar was spread and adopted to Nordic seed systems of the time, and used molecular genetic analysis to establish whether the early Chevalier variety was used for selective breeding purposes to produce today’s varieties of malting barley.



“When we started this study, we were primarily curious about whether Chevalier barley had been discovered and used in the same way as today’s modern varieties, with a genetic signature unique to Chevalier, and where the name is a sort of brand name for a certain kind of product,” said Jenny Hagenblad, associate professor of population genetics at the Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology (IFM) at Linköping University.



The researchers tested seeds from two different sources. Firstly, seeds were obtained from museum specimens of historical grains labeled “Chevalier.” These samples had been collected and stored at various times during the 19th century, with the oldest sample dating from 1865. Secondly, the researchers used seeds from current Chevalier accessions preserved in genebanks. In total, 282 individual seeds, representing 47 accessions, were used in the study.&nbsp;



Genetic analysis of the seeds revealed that many of them did indeed belong to a specific variety – Chevalier, and that this variety had been bred and kept pure for its superior malting qualities. From the very beginning, Chevalier was considered a premium malting barley and sold at higher prices than other cultivars. Farmers may have gone to great lengths to keep this cultivar pure, long before they knew the details of Mendelian inheritance or genes. In the light of these samples of pure Chevalier seeds, researchers were tempted to think it possible that a single plant may have given rise to all successive generations of this type of barley.&nbsp;



However, not all the sample jars marked “Chevalier” contained true Chevalier barley seeds.&nbsp;



Some of the samples contained unimproved landrace barley, representing the varieties that were present in Nordic countries before the introduction of the Chevalier cultivar. Other samples contained mixtures of Chevalier and landrace seeds, while a few samples also had seeds that were, hybrids (crosses) between Chevalier and other varieties.&nbsp;



From these results it was clear that the designation “Chevalier” was applied rather loosely in the 19th century. The seed mixtures indicated that, after the Chevalier variety was brought to Sweden, local farmers mixed it – deliberately or accidentally –with seeds from local landraces.&nbsp;



Although barley is usually self-fertilizing, there is a small incidence (2%) of cross-fertilization. This can lead to the development of a hybrid variety which would then have characteristics of both the Chevalier parent and the local landrace parent. The result would be a Chevalier-type malting barley that was also adapted to local environmental conditions. Not only did this generate new diversity from which farmers could obtain their future seeds, but hybrids often give increased yield as well.



According to the authors of the study, their findings indicate that farmers were practicing plant improvement methods long before there was an understanding of genetics. The processes used during the 1800s by farmers in Sweden were not very different from the plant improvement methods developed in the early 20th century, when genotypes superior in yield or quality were combined with locally adapted material to create the first modern cultivars.



“We can see signs of how people, long before the development of modern plant breeding, were already unwittingly using the very methods that became the foundation for the revolution in Swedish farming during the early 20th century,” said study co-author Matti Leino, a researcher in crop history at Stockholm University.



The results of the study have been published in the journal&nbsp;<a href="https://acsess.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/14350653">Crop Science</a>.



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

Barley was bred for exceptional qualities in the 19th century

The story goes that, in 1820, a farmworker in the...

A new study from the <a href="https://www.ubc.ca/">University of British Columbia</a> has taken a closer look at the ultraviolet "bullseye" patterns found on sunflowers. The ultraviolet (UV) <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dragonfly-wing-colors-driven-by-climate-and-sexual-selection/">colors</a> are invisible to humans, yet clearly visible to many insects.&nbsp;



The bullseye patterns were already known to make the flowers more attractive to bees, but scientists have now discovered that they do much more. The researchers found that chemicals in the UV markers also help the plants respond to stress from drought and extreme temperatures.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



“Unexpectedly, we noticed that sunflowers growing in drier climates had flowers with larger UV bullseyes, and found that those flowers are able to retain water more efficiently. This suggests that these larger UV bullseyes help plants adapt to these drier environments,” said study lead author Dr. Marco Todesco, a research associate in the UBC Department of Botany.



Dr. Todesco and colleagues grew nearly 2,000 individual sunflowers of two different species in a lab in 2016 and 2019. Measuring the UV patterns and examining the genome of the plants, the researchers found that sunflowers growing in different regions of North America had differently sized bullseye patterns. Bees were better able to see the larger bullseyes.&nbsp;



The experts also found that the same gene that controlled the bullseye pattern was used in the production of UV-absorbant flavonoids, which help the plants survive stresses from things like drought and high temperatures.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



“Floral UV patterns appear therefore to play at least a dual role in adaptation; besides their well-known effect on enhancing pollination, they also regulate water loss from flowers,” said study senior author Dr. Loren Rieseberg. “That’s not something you would necessarily expect a flower color to do, and it exemplifies the complexity and efficiency of adaptation - solving two problems with a single trait.”



The scientists feel more research into this adaptation could help improve the resilience of sunflower crops in the future.&nbsp;



The research is published in the journal <a href="https://elifesciences.org/">eLife</a>.



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

"Invisible" colors in sunflowers do more than just attract bees

A new study from the University of British Columbia has...

When plants grow, their stems, roots and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/caterpillars-spotted-for-the-first-time-on-alpine-rose-leaves/">leaves</a> increase in size and abundance in a coordinated manner. The changes in one type of organ keep pace with the changes in the other types. Dividing cells need to communicate with one another in order to achieve this, and previous research has identified that plants package important messages into molecules of RNA, which are sent from cell to cell.&nbsp;



New research, published today in the journal <a href="https://www.science.org/">Science</a>, adds to this understanding by identifying a special protein in the cells of plants that acts as an escort and helps the RNA molecules to travel to where they are needed.&nbsp;



By studying the mustard-like plant&nbsp;Arabidopsis thaliana, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) Professor&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cshl.edu/research/faculty-staff/david-jackson/">David Jackson</a>&nbsp;and his team found that without this escort protein, known as AtRRP44a, the plant cells cannot communicate or coordinate the growth of the plant.&nbsp;



While all animal and plant cells are surrounded by a membrane, plant cells alone have an additional wall around each cell. Chemical messages can cross this cell wall through tiny holes called plasmodesmata.&nbsp;



Munenori Kitagawa is a postdoc in the Jackson lab who led the study. He explained that plasmodesmata are nanochannels embedded in the cell wall. "They mediate [the transport of various signals] from cell to cell, including protein, RNA, hormones, ions, and nutrients.”



Kitagawa investigated exactly how plasmodesmata regulate the movement of chemical messages from one cell to the next. He and his colleagues discovered that the protein AtRRP44a is involved in the transport of RNA molecules through the nanochannels in the cell wall. Decreasing the amount of AtRRP44a available slowed down the movement of RNA messages between cells and, because they then lacked the right messages, the plants failed to develop properly.&nbsp;



A protein similar to this escort protein is present in other plants, yeasts, and animals. The researchers were able to swap out part of the&nbsp;Arabidopsis thaliana&nbsp;signaling system and replace it with a part from&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cshl.edu/corn-2-0/">corn</a>;&nbsp;this restored normal development, showing that many kinds of plants share this signaling system.&nbsp;



“Plants are very sophisticated," said Jackson. "We think of them just sitting in their environment, not moving, but really they’re processing a lot of information. The different parts of the plant are talking to each other, sharing whether they have some pathogen attack or if they need some nutrients.”



“This paper represents an important step towards understanding how information is exchanged between cells to control development and other processes,” said John McDowell, a program officer in the&nbsp;<a href="https://nsf.gov/">U.S. National Science Foundation</a>’s Directorate for Biological Sciences. “By revealing a new component of cell-to-cell communication, this research opens the door for further investigation that could allow us to harness this process.”



---



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

Plant cells message each other using RNA and escort proteins

When plants grow, their stems, roots and leaves increase in...

In the past, when climates changed, forests became distributed more to the north or to the south of their previous locations. This is not to say that the trees, themselves, moved. Rather, the ranges of the tree species changed. For example, fossil plant and pollen records show that the ranges of tree species shifted northward at a rate of 50km per century as the climate warmed after the retreat of the North American ice cap.&nbsp;



Tree range migration is facilitated by the movement of seeds. When the climate changes, trees begin to form more seeds; these get spread around by dispersal agents and may germinate in areas that are more favorable for growth. Although wind and water may carry some seeds, the vast majority of trees depend on animals to disperse them to new areas. But now, many of these seed-dispersing animals are themselves threatened, as climate changes and habitats are lost.



In&nbsp;<a href="http://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abk3510?adobe_mc=MCMID%3D84587913426847399401258317155412422308%7CMCORGID%3D242B6472541199F70A4C98A6%2540AdobeOrg%7CTS%3D1641994662">a study</a>&nbsp;featured on the cover of this week’s issue of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.science.org/">Science</a>, U.S. and Danish researchers consider how the loss of species of birds and animals will impact the ability of plants to adapt to human-induced climate change in future. While animals can often fly, walk, run or swim to more suitable areas, trees cannot escape the heat. Tree species that need to move their offspring away from warmer temperatures will only be able to do so via the activities of seed-dispersal agents, such as mammals and birds.&nbsp;



“Some plants live hundreds of years, and their only chance to move is during the short period when they're a seed moving across the landscape,” said <a href="https://www.rice.edu/">Rice University</a> ecologist&nbsp;<a href="https://www.evanfricke.com/">Evan Fricke</a>, the study's first author. “If there are no animals available to eat their fruits or carry away their nuts, animal-dispersed plants aren’t moving very far."



In collaboration with researchers from the University of Maryland, Iowa State University and Aarhus University, the Rice team used machine learning and data from thousands of field studies to map the contributions of seed-dispersing birds and mammals worldwide. They compared maps of seed dispersal today with maps showing what dispersal would look like if there were no human-caused extinctions or species range restrictions.



The experts also used data synthesized from field studies around the world to train a machine-learning model for seed dispersal, and then used the trained model to estimate the loss of climate-tracking dispersal caused by animal declines.



Fricke explained that developing estimates of seed-dispersal losses due to animal and bird extinctions or changes in their ranges required two significant technical advances: “First, we needed a way to predict seed-dispersal interactions occurring between plants and animals at any location around the world."



For this, they used data on species interactions from over 400 field studies that detailed how many seeds are dispersed by particular species of birds and mammals, how far they are dispersed and how well those seeds germinate. Based on this data, the researchers could predict interactions between plants and seed dispersers.



“Second, we needed to model how each plant-animal interaction actually affected seed dispersal,” said Fricke. “For example, when an animal eats a fruit, it might destroy the seeds or it might disperse them a few meters away or several kilometers away.”



The results of the study showed that many seed-dispersing mammals and birds have already been lost, particularly in temperate regions across North America, Europe, South America and Australia. In addition, if currently endangered species go extinct, tropical regions in South America, Africa and Southeast Asia would be severely affected.&nbsp;&nbsp;



“We found regions where climate-tracking seed dispersal declined by 95%, even though they’d lost only a few percent of their mammal and bird species,” said Fricke.&nbsp;



The findings showed that the ability of animal-dispersed plants to keep pace with climate change has been reduced by 60% due to the loss of mammals and birds that help such plants adapt to environmental change.&nbsp;



“In addition to the wake-up call that declines in animal species have vastly limited the ability of plants to adapt to climate change, this study beautifully demonstrates the power of complex analyses applied to huge, publicly available data,” said Doug Levey, program director of the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Directorate for Biological Sciences, which partially funded the work.



Fricke explained that the study is the first to quantify the scale of the seed-dispersal problem globally and to identify the regions most affected. He emphasized that declines in the populations of seed dispersers highlight an important intersection between the climate and biodiversity crises impacting natural environments today.



“Biodiversity of seed-dispersing animals is key for the climate resilience of plants, which includes their ability to continue storing carbon and feeding people,” he said, adding that restoration of ecosystem connections in natural habitats could counteract some declines in seed dispersal, but not all of them. People also rely, both economically and ecologically, on seed-dispersing birds and mammals to ensure the supply of important resources.&nbsp;



“Large mammals and birds are particularly important as long-distance seed dispersers and have been widely lost from natural ecosystems,” said Svenning, the study’s senior author. “The research highlights the need to restore faunas to ensure effective dispersal in the face of rapid climate change.”&nbsp;



“When we lose mammals and birds from ecosystems, we don’t just lose species. Extinction and habitat loss damage complex ecological networks," said Fricke. "This study shows animal declines can disrupt ecological networks in ways that threaten the climate resilience of entire ecosystems that people rely upon.”



---



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

Some plants won't survive the loss of seed-dispersing animals

In the past, when climates changed, forests became distributed more...

Replacing butter, mayonnaise and dairy fat with olive oil on a regular basis can literally save your life, according to a new study from the <a href="https://www.acc.org/">American College of Cardiology</a>. The experts report that consuming more than half a tablespoon of olive oil per day is associated with a reduced risk of death from cardiovascular disease, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/meat-eating-animals-are-more-susceptible-to-cancer/">cancer</a>, neurodegenerative disease, or respiratory disease.



Study lead author Dr. Marta Guasch-Ferré is a senior research scientist at the Department of Nutrition at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.&nbsp;



“Our findings support current dietary recommendations to increase the intake of olive oil and other unsaturated vegetable oils,” said Dr. Guasch-Ferré&nbsp;



“Clinicians should be counseling patients to replace certain fats, such as margarine and butter, with olive oil to improve their health. Our study helps make more specific recommendations that will be easier for patients to understand and hopefully implement into their diets.”



Based on data from the Nurses’ Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study, the researchers analyzed the dietary habits and health outcomes of 60,582 women and 31,801 men. At the beginning of the study period in 1990, the participants were free of cardiovascular disease and cancer. 



Based on 28 years of follow-up, the researchers compared individuals who regularly consumed olive oil to those who rarely or never consumed olive oil. The study revealed that participants in the highest consumption category, had a lower risk of cardiovascular mortality by 19 percent and a lower risk of cancer mortality by 17 percent. These individuals also had a 29-percent lower risk of neurodegenerative mortality and an 18-percent lower risk of respiratory mortality. 



According to the study, substituting 10 grams of olive oil (daily) for other fats such as margarine, butter, and mayonnaise lowers the risk of mortality from all causes by up to 34 percent.



“It’s possible that higher olive oil consumption is a marker of an overall healthier diet and higher socioeconomic status. However, even after adjusting for these and other social economic status factors, our results remained largely the same,” said Dr. Guasch-Ferré.&nbsp;



“Our study cohort was predominantly a non-Hispanic white population of health professionals, which should minimize potentially confounding socioeconomic factors, but may limit generalizability as this population may be more likely to lead a healthy lifestyle.”



The study is published in the <a href="https://www.jacc.org/">Journal of the American College of Cardiology</a>.



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

Regular olive oil consumption can literally save your life

Replacing butter, mayonnaise and dairy fat with olive oil on...

Ecological interactions are often not simple or straightforward in nature. Instead, they commonly represent trade-offs between different processes so that the best compromise is reached in the end.&nbsp;This is exactly what scientists from the <a href="https://www.ice.mpg.de/">Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology</a> found when they investigated the choices made by female tobacco hawkmoths (Manduca sexta) when laying their eggs. 



The hawkmoths did not always make the obvious choice when placing their eggs on the leaves of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/invasive-plants-cause-a-global-loss-of-floristic-uniqueness/">plants</a> that would provide food for the larvae, once they hatched. Previous research had shown that tobacco hawkmoths avoid laying their eggs on plants where they smell the feces of other hawkmoths. “This is apparently their way of avoiding food competition. Therefore, we wondered whether the moths also avoid plants infested by other herbivorous insects,” explained study first author Jin Zhang.



In the lab, the researchers gave female hawkmoths a choice between laying their eggs on sacred Datura plants (Datura wrightii) that were infested with three-lined potato beetles (Lema daturaphila) or Datura plants that had no potato beetles. Both adult and larval potato beetles feed on the leaves of this plant, and the researchers hypothesized that the hawkmoths would avoid plants where potato beetles were present in order to ensure the maximum supply of food for their offspring.&nbsp;



But the hawkmoth females surprised the researchers by laying their eggs, preferentially, on the leaves of Datura plants that already hosted numerous potato beetles.&nbsp;&nbsp;



“To be honest, we were a little frustrated at first because we had expected the experiments to confirm our initial hypothesis, namely that egg-laying tobacco hawkmoths avoid food competitors,” explained study leader Markus Knaden.



“In our case, however, the unexpected observation suddenly made sense when we realized that beetle-infested plants smell quite differently and that parasitoid wasps, which often use plant odors to find their host insects, are less efficient at detecting tobacco hornworms on beetle-infested plants."



Tobacco hornworms, the larvae or caterpillars of tobacco hawkmoths, are heavily parasitized by the wasp&nbsp;Cotesia congregate, which lays its eggs in the caterpillars. Up to 90 percent of these caterpillars are parasitized by wasps and die shortly after the wasp larva hatches. Female hawkmoths therefore need to consider not only the available food supply for their larvae, but also their potential exposure to this parasitic wasp species.



The experts analyzed the odor given off by Datura&nbsp;plants when they carry an infestation of three-lined potato beetles compared to the odor emitted when there is no infestation. They found that infested plants produce more alpha-copaene in the in their odor when the beetles and their larvae are present. Interestingly, these three-lined potato beetles coat themselves with their own feces, possibly as a means of deterring would-be predators and parasites.&nbsp;



The research team then tried to establish how exactly the tobacco hawkmoth females detect the presence of the molecular substance alpha-copaene. Of the 70 potential chemical receptors present in the hawkmoths, the researchers identified a single one, Or35, as the odorant receptor activated by alpha-copaene. They suggest that this receptor is probably involved in the moth’s choice of where to deposit its eggs.



Next, the experts tested the choices made by the wasps (Cotesia congregate) that parasitize tobacco hawkmoth caterpillars. They found that the wasps preferred the odor of plants on which tobacco hornworms were feeding, but they also avoided the odor of plants that were infested with potato beetles. These results were confirmed by assays in an experimental tent containing&nbsp;Datura&nbsp;plants infested by tobacco hawkmoths only, or by tobacco hawkmoths and potato beetles together. Wasps also avoided plants with beetles in this setting.



The findings indicate that female tobacco hawkmoths, when choosing where to lay their eggs, weigh up the benefit for their larvae of having no food competition against the disadvantage of being parasitized by the wasps. Although tobacco hornworms develop more slowly on plants that are additionally infested by beetles, the mother moths accept this disadvantage when laying their eggs. The advantage of protecting their offspring from parasitic wasps must therefore outweigh the disadvantage of food competition. Such cost-benefit trade-offs play a significant role in many ecological interactions.&nbsp;



“Our results show that in nature, simple explanations are often not sufficient. Tobacco hawkmoths do not only have to take into account whether a plant is a good food substrate for their offspring, but also whether potential competitors are already present, and whether the presence of these competitors could even help to hide [their offspring] from predators,” concluded study co-author Bill Hansson.



The researchers will focus future studies on the reasons why&nbsp;Datura&nbsp;plants emit different odors depending on the insects that feed on them. They plan to use interdisciplinary approaches that also consider, for example, the role of microorganisms in these complex interactions, and hope to uncover further exciting aspects of the multifaceted interactions between living organisms.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/home">Current Biology</a>.



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

Complex factors determine where hawkmoths lay their eggs

Ecological interactions are often not simple or straightforward in nature....

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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Worms dominated seas before dinosaurs

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



The full study was published in the journal Current Biology.



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Earth's oldest forest found in the United States

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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The environmental problem we actually solved

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

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

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







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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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What to plant in your garden in mid-July

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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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Wildlife tunnels save millions of amphibians

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Is chocolate the next nutritional powerhouse?

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

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="3upvlAaHgO-2256633-12187" type="single"]</div>



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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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