Male mice can learn to be aggressive just by watching. The twist is that the effect shows up after they see familiar cage mates fight, not strangers, and it appears to run through a specific hub in the brain.



This work adds a new layer to the classic <a href="https://www.simplypsychology.org/bystander-effect.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">bystander effect</a>, shifting the focus from helping behavior to the spread of hostile actions. It also highlights observational <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fish-oil-omega-3-capsules-have-been-found-to-help-control-aggression/">learning</a>, the process of picking up behavior by seeing others do it.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-aggression-in-male-mice">Aggression in male mice </h2>



Jacob C. Nordman of Southern Illinois University School of Medicine (<a href="https://www.siumed.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">SIU</a>) and his team designed a simple setup. Mice watched either known peers or unfamiliar mice attack intruders for 10 minutes, then were tested 30 minutes later in their own resident territory.



In a new <a href="https://www.jneurosci.org/content/early/2025/08/18/JNEUROSCI.1018-25.2025" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">paper</a>, the researchers report that only male witnesses who had observed familiar fighters showed a later uptick in attacking. Females did not show the effect, and observing strangers did not change later behavior.



The group chose this design to separate mere exposure to violence from the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/geese-guide-the-flock-with-boldness-not-aggression/">social</a> context of the model. Familiarity turned out to be the on switch for later aggression in males.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-brain-circuit-of-aggression">Brain circuit of aggression</h2>



The experiments point to the amygdala, a region important for emotion and social signals. Within it, the medial amygdala contains a posterior ventral subdivision that previous work ties to aggression priming.



Prior <a href="https://www.jneurosci.org/content/40/25/4858" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">research</a> showed that repeated attacks strengthen connections from this MeApv node to downstream targets that control how often and how long mice attack. That background helped in framing the new results.



The team recorded neural activity in this area during the witnessing phase using fiber photometry, a population recording method that reads calcium-linked fluorescence in defined cells. A recent <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11582208/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">review</a> describes how this approach lets scientists monitor activity in freely moving animals.



Signals in excitatory MeApv neurons rose when males watched familiar peers attack, but not when they watched unfamiliar fighters. The pattern fits a model where recognized peers engage circuitry that prepares, or primes, an aggressive state.



“We previously found that these neurons are involved in an ‘aggression priming’ <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dopamines-role-in-male-aggression-fades-with-fighting-experience/">effect</a>,” said Nordman. The new study tested whether simply seeing known peers act aggressively would recruit the same circuit.



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



Social identity shapes imitation in many species. In humans, a long term longitudinal <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12661882/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">study</a> shows that heavier exposure to violent media in childhood predicts more aggressive behavior in young adulthood, even after accounting for important confounders.



A <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/204790" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">meta-analysis</a> from 2006 revealed consistent short-term and long-term links between violent media exposure and aggressive behavior, thoughts, and arousal. That literature helps explain why repeated observation can change later actions.



In mice, familiarity may heighten relevance, salience, or identification with the model. The selective MeApv activation during familiar observations hints that the brain tags familiar peers differently, which can bias later choices toward attack.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-confirming-the-role-of-neurons">Confirming the role of neurons </h2>



To move beyond correlation, the team manipulated the MeApv neurons during observation. Chemogenetic silencing cuts the later aggression that usually follows watching familiar fighters, which argues the activity is necessary.



The reverse effect was also observed. Activating the same neuron population while males watched strangers, who normally do not trigger the effect, made later attacks more likely.



Related animal <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fnins.2024.1433993/full" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">evidence</a> indicates that acute social defeat in adolescence drives long lasting aggression by recruiting MeApv neurons. Putting the findings together, MeApv emerges as a convergence point for both direct experience and observational routes to aggression.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tools-for-tracking-aggression">Tools for tracking aggression</h2>



Terms like chemogenetics and optogenetics describe ways to control defined neurons. Chemogenetics uses engineered receptors that respond to a designer drug to turn cells down or up for minutes to hours.



Optogenetics uses light sensitive ion channels to switch activity with millisecond timing. In this study, chemogenetics handled inhibition and activation during the viewing window, while photometry tracked the activity patterns that predicted later <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/gorillas-adjust-their-aggression-based-on-risk-and-reward/">behavior</a>.



These tools let scientists pose causal questions about circuit nodes. If turning down a node prevents the learned behavior, and turning it up installs the behavior when it would not otherwise appear, that node likely sits on a necessary pathway.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-study-limitations-and-next-steps">Study limitations and next steps</h2>



The work uses mice, so direct translation to people needs care. Sex differences showed up clearly here, and the effect depended on social familiarity, which may play out differently in human groups.



Time scales also matter. The observation lasted 10 minutes and the test came 30 minutes later, so the results speak to short term acquisition expressed soon after witnessing.



Future studies can ask how long the familiarity gated effect lasts and whether repeated observing builds stronger, longer lived priming. Experts can also examine whether adolescence, stress history, or social rank change how the MeApv encodes familiar aggression.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-this-matters-for-everyday-life">Why this matters for everyday life</h2>



Social environments can nudge biology in ways that push behavior. The results suggest that who you watch may matter as much as what you watch when it comes to aggressive scripts.



Public health and education strategies often target exposure volume. Adding social identity and relationship context to that conversation could make prevention efforts more precise.



Circuit level insights can also guide ideas for intervention. If a specific node reads social familiarity and primes later attack, targeted behavioral training or neuromodulation approaches could aim to disrupt that readout before it turns into action.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.jneurosci.org/content/early/2025/08/18/JNEUROSCI.1018-25.2025" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">JNeurosci</a>.



-----



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Male aggression may be triggered by the influence of friends

Male mice can learn to be aggressive just by watching. The twist is that the effect shows up after they see familiar cage mates fight, not strangers, and it appears to run through a specific hub in the brain. This work adds a new layer to the classic bystander effect, shifting the focus from helping behavior to the spread of hostile actions. It also highlights observational learning, the process of picking up behavior by seeing others do it. Aggression in male mice Jacob C. Nordman of Southern...

According to UN Climate Chief, Paris Conference is Last Chance for Hope. The December climate change conference in Paris is the last chance for a meaningful agreement that would offer hope for a planet at risk due to greenhouse gases, <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/hotter-summers-are-transforming-endangered-bunchgrass-prairies/">U.N.</a> climate chief Christiana Figueres said Wednesday.


[caption id="attachment_2383048" align="alignright" width="300"]<a href="http://cff1.greenatom.net/uploads/2015/07/22122058/ad01a328-0244-4aeb-84af-10dcacb2fb67-big.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-2383048" src="http://cff1.greenatom.net/uploads/2015/07/22122058/ad01a328-0244-4aeb-84af-10dcacb2fb67-big-300x214.jpg" alt="United Nations climate chief Christiana Figueres, gestures as she speaks during an interview of the Associated Press in Paris, France, Wednesday, July 22, 2015. Figueres says that the upcoming climate change conference in Paris is the last chance for a meaningful agreement. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)" width="300" height="214" /></a> United Nations climate chief Christiana Figueres, gestures as she speaks during an interview of the Associated Press in Paris, France, Wednesday, July 22, 2015. Figueres says that the upcoming climate change conference in Paris is the last chance for a meaningful agreement. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)[/caption]
Figueres is deep into preparations to broker a landmark, legally binding climate deal with more than 190 nations to keep global warming from reaching dangerous levels.
"Science is telling us that time is running out," Figueres said in an interview with The Associated Press. "We do not play with this anymore. We are at five minutes to 12 and Paris is the 12 o'clock strike of the clock."
So far, less than 50 of 194 nations have weighed in with commitments to slash carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases to reduce global warming. Conference host French President Francois Hollande said Tuesday that, with the current commitments, "we are still above" the overall goal of keeping the average global temperature rise below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees F) compared with pre-industrial times.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said recently that negotiations - separate from the nations' commitments - are moving at a "snail's pace" but Figueres said "we continue to be optimistic about Paris."
The Paris agreement is to sign off on a structure that will serve as a guide for decreases in emissions and increases in resilience in the coming decades, along with what Figueres called an "instruction manual" on how to implement the accord.
Its complex parts should "untangle" shortly, she said. "So, I think we are on track."
Without an agreement, "we are going to be playing with fire," she added.
"Whatever gets done over the next 10 to 15 years, whatever gets invested particularly in the energy system ... is going to determine the energy matrix that we will have for at least 50 years. It is going to determine the quality of life of this century and beyond," Figueres said.
Asked about those who doubt the scientific evidence of <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=global+warming&amp;cvid=3fd0dba4d2e448f39d3052045b7e8c23&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">global warming</a>, particularly in the United States - the nation which, after China, is the biggest polluter - Figueres had a simple response: consider the economic benefits of renewable energy, including growth, jobs and exports.
"With or without the science of climate change ... there is by now an unstoppable, irreversible technology and energy system trend, said Figueres. According to UN Climate Chief, Paris Conference is Last Chance for Hope
To limit the Earth's temperature rise below 2 degrees Celsius requires a massive energy shift to renewable sources, and perhaps even capturing airborne carbon dioxide and storing it underground.
"Why would the United States industry want to leave the opportunity of growth? ... And the opportunity to export the technology? Because all countries are turning to renewable energy," she asked. "Why would the United States want to leave that to China?"
China, she said, "understands that this is what is coming down the pike, this is where job creation is."
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According to UN Climate Chief, Paris Conference is Last Chance for Hope

According to UN Climate Chief, Paris Conference is Last Chance...

New Jersey Warehouse Fire Smoke Visible from Space. New Jersey Warehouse Fire Smoke Visible from Space. A large warehouse fire that was fueled by plastics, autos and household goods sent plumes of black smoke into the air Wednesday that were visible from space.
The warehouse fire broke out early in the morning in the rear of the complex that is used by eight businesses in North Brunswick, Fire Chief Donald Salzmann said. The flames quickly overtook a sprinkler system and spread from one end of the building to the other.
Firefighters decided to let it burn out and could be on the scene dealing with hot spots through the evening, the chief said. By the middle of the day, most of the blaze was under control except for the section where a plastic plant was located, Salzmann said.New Jersey Warehouse Fire Smoke Visible from Space
The cause of the blaze was not known and the investigation would not begin until the flames were out.
The flames lit up the night sky, and the billowing thick smoke was visible on a weather satellite photo.
Residents of a nearby apartment building were ordered to leave after heat from the blaze set the siding on fire. Others were moved as a precaution over fears of potential <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=toxins&amp;cvid=5fbfd0db69e64253ac035473f9c54de0&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">toxins</a> being released from the burning plastic.
Officials were monitoring air quality and would continue to check the smoke for any health threats, Dwayne Harrington of the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/sea-stars-may-be-drowning-in-their-environment/">Environmental</a> Protection Administration said.
Officials had not detected any dangerous levels of toxins, Mayor Francis Womac III said.
The mayor recommended nearby residents stay inside and turn off their air conditioners as a precaution. Officials were helping residents with respiratory health problems move, if they were unable to do so.
About 75 nearby residents remained in a shelter.
Low water pressure was an issue and tanker trucks, along with firefighters from within a 20-mile radius, were brought to the scene.
A firefighter was treated at the scene for a hand injury.
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New Jersey Warehouse Fire Smoke Visible from Space

New Jersey Warehouse Fire Smoke Visible from Space. New Jersey...

Putting a definitive date on really old plant and animal remains is hard enough as it is. Now, researchers say accelerating CO2 levels in the atmosphere will soon make carbon dating unreliable.

The method of carbon dating puts a time of death on organic remains by comparing the levels of radioactive and nonradioactive carbon.

When the sun's rays react with nitrogen in the atmosphere, a radioactive isotope of carbon called carbon-14 is created. This isotope is absorbed by plants, and further up the food chain by herbivores, omnivores and carnivores.

All organic matter accretes this radioactive isotope while alive; but once deceased, carbon-14 begins decaying. By comparing the ratio of radiocarbon levels in decaying matter to those in the atmosphere, researchers can determine how long a plant, animal or organic-based material has been dead.

But the burning of fossil fuels, manmade carbon emissions, are dramatically increasing the amount of nonradioactive carbon in the atmosphere, throwing off the consistent ratios that make the dating technique possible.

"As carbon-14 decays over time the fraction will decrease so that's how we use it for dating," Heather Graven, researcher at Imperial College London and author of a <a class="tpstyle" href="http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2015/07/15/1504467112" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">new study</a> on the subject, <a class="tpstyle" href="http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-33594658" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">told BBC News</a>. "But we can also change this ratio of radioactive carbon to total carbon, if we are adding non-radioactive carbon and that's what's happening with fossil fuels, we get this dilution effect."

Graven says by 2050, a new pair of jeans will have the same radiocarbon date as something 10,000 years old.

"If we did any current measurements on new products, they will end up having the same fraction of radiocarbon to total carbon as something that's lost it over time due to decay," Graven said.

It's not the end of dating, as scientists have a few other techniques. But it may soon be the end of carbon dating, a method that revolutionized both archaeology and forensic science after it was developed in the 1940s.

"This finding has strong and as yet unrecognized implications for many applications of radiocarbon in various fields, and it implies that radiocarbon dating may no longer provide definitive ages for samples up to 2,000 years old," researchers concluded.

---

UPI

Carbon Dating Will Soon be Unreliable Due to CO2 Emissions

Putting a definitive date on really old plant and animal...

Leonardo DiCaprio Raises $40 Million For The Earth. Leonardo DiCaprio raised over $40 million to help save the planet at an auction in Saint-Tropez, <a href="http://www.earth.com/image/arcachon-bay-in-southwestern-france/">France</a>, on Wednesday night.

The second annual Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation fundraising gala included a live auction with donated jewelry and artwork from the actor's personal collection, his publicist, Shawn Sachs, said Thursday.

Naomi Campbell, Orlando Bloom and Kate Hudson attended the event, which included performances by Elton John and John Legend.

Other items in the auction included an estate on DiCaprio's private Belize island, Blackadore Caye, and a special travel package donated by Prince Albert II of Monaco. Also Leonardo DiCaprio Raises $40 Million For The Earth for many other reasons in helping.

DiCaprio, whose films include "Titanic" and "The Wolf of Wall Street," started the environmental foundation in 1998 to help preserve the environment and habitats of wild animals.

The money funds grants, public campaigns and media initiatives supported by the foundation.

DiCaprio, 40, serves on the board of several environmental organizations. He said he hopes to work with governments to protect critically <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=endangered+species&amp;cvid=4618770443d84206bc017760c2480b9b&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">endangered species</a> and "conserve the jungles, coral reefs, and forest they call home."

---

Online:

<a href="http://www.leonardodicaprio.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">http://www.leonardodicaprio.org</a>

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Leonardo DiCaprio Raises $40 Million For The Earth

Leonardo DiCaprio Raises $40 Million For The Earth. Leonardo DiCaprio...

Throughout Earth's history, rapid climate changes have precipitated megafauna extinctions. According to new research, abrupt global warming -- similar to today's accelerating temperatures -- is to blame for the disappearance of mammoths during the last ice age.

In a new study, Australian researchers compared and contrasted geologic records with the ancient DNA analysis and radiocarbon dating. The results showed that a succession of abrupt warming periods known as interstadials during the Pleistocene matched neatly with significant extinction events.

Until recently, researchers thought sudden and intense cold snaps were to blame for die-offs of large mammals throughout evolutionary history, but instead, the opposite seems to be true.

"This abrupt warming had a profound impact on climate that caused marked shifts in global rainfall and vegetation patterns," study author <a class="tpstyle" title="Alan Cooper" href="http://www.upi.com/topic/Alan_Cooper/">Alan Cooper</a>, a professor at the University of Adelaide and Director of the Australian Center for Ancient DNA, <a class="tpstyle" href="http://www.adelaide.edu.au/news/news79662.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said in a recent press release</a>.

"Even without the presence of humans we saw mass extinctions," Cooper said. "When you add the modern addition of human pressures and fragmenting of the environment to the rapid changes brought by global warming, it raises serious concerns about the future of our environment."

The new research corresponds neatly with the extinction of mammoths and giant sloths some 11,000 years ago, as the last ice age came to an end.

Scientists say their work -- which was published <a class="tpstyle" href="http://www.sciencemag.org/content/early/2015/07/22/science.aac4315" target="_blank" rel="noopener">in the journal Science</a> this week -- offers the most comprehensive timeline of climate change and species movement, data that will aid future research projects.

They also say the impacts of mankind on plants and animals shouldn't be discounted.

"It is important to recognise that man still played an important role in the disappearance of the major mega fauna species," said co-author Chris Turney, a professor at the University of New South Wales. "The abrupt warming of the climate caused massive changes to the environment that set the extinction events in motion, but the rise of humans applied the coup de grâce to a population that was already under stress."

---

UPI

Study Suggests Sudden Warming to Blame for Mammoth Extinction

Throughout Earth's history, rapid climate changes have precipitated megafauna extinctions....

Hydrogen Gas to Blame for Rhode Island Beach Blast. Hydrogen Gas to Blame for Rhode Island Beach Blast. A mysterious blast on a Rhode Island beach likely was caused by the combustion of hydrogen gas buildup because of a corroded copper cable under the sand, investigators announced Friday.
Officials have spent nearly two weeks trying to figure out what happened on July 11 at Salty Brine Beach in Narragansett, when witnesses heard a large boom and a woman from Connecticut was sent flying through the air into a jetty. <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/san-francisco-facial-recognition-technology/">Police</a> almost immediately ruled out an explosive device or intentional act, but scientists were stumped about what could have caused the blast.
Janet Coit, director of the state Department of Environmental Management, said Friday that scientists at the University of Rhode Island had pinpointed it to hydrogen built up by the corrosion of an abandoned copper cable that previously was used by the U.S. Coast Guard and runs under the sand.
Coit said scientists took core samples of the beach, and the sand where the blast occurred had unusually high levels of hydrogen gas.
Arthur Spivack, an oceanographer with expertise in geo-chemistry at URI's Graduate School of Oceanography who worked on finding the cause, said hydrogen combustion is about the simplest chemical reaction there is. Hydrogen Gas to Blame for Rhode Island Beach Blast
"All you need is hydrogen and oxygen in the right mixture and it can combust," he said. "Everything we observed is consistent with hydrogen combustion."
Coit said they tested the beach for <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=hydrogen&amp;cvid=b5651a49a84d493187da7225b03440e0&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">hydrogen</a> on Friday, took 10 samples and hydrogen wasn't detected.
Kathleen Danise, 60, of Waterbury, Connecticut, suffered two fractured ribs and bruises in the blast. The beach fully reopened on Tuesday.
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Hydrogen Gas to Blame for Rhode Island Beach Blast

Hydrogen Gas to Blame for Rhode Island Beach Blast. Hydrogen...

New Study Compares Global Energy Consumption to Population Growth. New Study Compares Global Energy Consumption to Population Growth. Lincoln, Neb., July 24th, 2015 -- If you've lived between the year 1560 and the present day, more power to you. Literally.

That's one of several conclusions reached by University of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/historic-flooding-nebraska-iowa/">Nebraska</a>-Lincoln ecologist John DeLong, who has co-authored the first study to quantify the relationship between human population growth and energy use on an international scale.

The study compiled several centuries' worth of data from Great Britain, the United States and Sweden to profile the dynamics between a skyrocketing population and its consumption of energy from fossil fuels and renewable sources. New Study Compares Global Energy Consumption to Population Growth

The data showed that energy use has generally outpaced population growth over the last few hundred years. Each generation has thus produced more energy per person than its predecessor, the study reported, even as the population has climbed from about 500 million to more than 7 billion in the 450 years analyzed by the authors.

This increasing per capita energy supply has also hiked up Earth's carrying capacity - the number of people it can sustain at equilibrium - and allowed the population to grow at an ever-faster, or exponential, rate.

"Broadly speaking, no one's really (quantified) this," said DeLong, assistant professor of biological sciences. "But it was important, because there are studies going back decades that assume this kind of positive feedback loop: We grow, we expand our capacity to extract energy, and then we grow some more."

However, DeLong and colleague Oskar Burger also found that this dynamic has shifted in the decades following 1963, when the world's population was growing faster than ever before or since.

During the subsequent half-century, the ratio between energy increases and population growth has narrowed, with the former now aligning more closely to the latter. A 1:1 ratio would theoretically limit the planet's population to a linear rather than exponential growth rate.

"I do think this should challenge our assumptions about future population growth," DeLong said. "The study supports conventional wisdom to a degree, but it also reminds us that (abundant energy) is maybe not something that we can count on indefinitely.

"Our study sort of plays into a deep cultural philosophy that we have the creativity and ability to solve whatever problem comes our way. The evidence shows that, from an energy point of view, we've done that a lot. But maybe that's not a guarantee."

While analyzing the data, the researchers also spotted unexpected fluctuations in the population-energy relationship at certain points in history. After closer scrutiny, they discovered that per capita energy yields fluctuated during times of socio-economic and environmental upheaval: the Little Ice Age, the Industrial Revolution, World War I and II, the oil crises of the 1970s.

Though DeLong emphasized that the data will not allow researchers to determine whether this instability actually drove changes in energy use - or vice versa - he acknowledged that the overlaps warrant further study.

"It's a cautionary tale, perhaps," DeLong said. "The human socio-economic system is a complex one with a lot of moving parts. Those things are really unpredictable, but generally speaking, we think about complex systems as relying on a stable throughput of energy.

"I think the timing of those peaks in variability tells us that we should be thinking about this in two ways: how what other countries do influences the energy supply, and how to maintain those flows without generating downstream problems."

DeLong said the study's insights might also help inform and refine population projections. The United Nations currently projects, with 95 percent confidence, that <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/cyanobacteria-may-shed-new-light-on-the-history-of-life-on-earth/">Earth's</a> population in the year 2100 will sit between 9 billion and 13 billion people.

"In the back of our minds, it definitely is a goal to make better, more mechanistic forecasts," said DeLong. "What we're saying is: Every other population on the planet depends on energy to fuel their activities and maintain their bodies. Ours must, too."

---

<a href="http://www.unl.edu">University of Nebraska - Lincoln</a>

New Study Compares Global Energy Consumption to Population Growth

New Study Compares Global Energy Consumption to Population Growth. New...

Florida Everglades Oil Boom Raises Environmental Concerns. Renewed hunts for oil in sensitive Florida ecosystems have environmental groups raising questions about the state's regulation of the oil and gas industry.
A <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=miami&amp;cvid=10fdbc244bcf4171aeee61f1da92c828&amp;pglt=43&amp;FORM=ANNTA1&amp;PC=HCTS">Miami</a> company, Kanter Real Estate LLC, has submitted a permit application to drill an exploratory oil well on the eastern edge of the Florida Everglades.
Meanwhile, federal approval is pending for a seismic survey meant to locate new areas for drilling in the Big Cypress National Preserve, a freshwater swamp whose health is vital to the neighboring Everglades and to native wildlife, including the endangered <a href="http://www.earth.com/image/striking-antisolar-rays-over-florida/">Florida</a> panther. Florida Everglades Oil Boom Raises Environmental Concerns
The state recently issued a wetlands activity permit to Fort Worth, Texas-based Burnett Oil Co. Inc. for the survey that would cover 110 square miles within the preserve. Florida and the National Park Service are requiring a number of steps to ensure minimal harm to wildlife and the environment, but the proposal worries critics who have complained that lax oversight of previous drilling operations left ecologically sensitive areas vulnerable to contamination.
From 2012 to 2014, Florida issued three environmental violations for oil and gas operations in the state, according to violations data analyzed by The Associated Press.
The three violations occurred in 2014 after Collier County officials raised concerns about another Texas oil company's use of a fracking-like oil recovery practice at a well near panther habitat.
The Department of Environmental Protection - the state's oil and gas regulator - say the number doesn't show lax law enforcement, but rather that Florida's strict inspections keep well operators in compliance.
"During the 2014 calendar year, DEP's inspectors conducted 2,472 inspections on the 160 active wells in the state. Due to the frequency of these inspections, potential problems are identified and remedied before a violation occurs or a compliance action is required," said DEP spokeswoman Lauren Engel said in a statement.
Environmental groups argue that Florida's regulations currently only cover conventional drilling methods, not the "acid stimulation" that prompted last year's violations or other advanced extraction techniques.
"We've learned that Florida's oil and gas laws are extremely antiquated and rudimentary and don't address new techniques such as fracking," said Jennifer Hecker, director of natural resource policy for the Conservancy of Southwest Florida.
Drilling has been a part of the Big Cypress since before it became a national preserve in 1974. The first wells were dug in the 1940s, and drilling continues to this day, as new technologies may improve the efficiency of extracting oil from deposits running underground from Fort Myers to Miami.
The Burnett survey would be scheduled for Florida's winter dry season and produce vibrations created by plates attached to thumper trucks driving across a grid.
The state has gone on record opposing some methods of seismic testing, but it has not objected to the Burnett project.
DEP sent a letter to the Obama administration opposing new rules allowing seismic surveys for oil and gas off the state's Atlantic coast because not enough was known about the surveys' effects on marine life. The seismic survey in the Big Cypress, however, has to comply with Florida laws, said Engel.
"With onshore seismic, we have regulatory authority through this permitting program," she said.
Burnett says it's prepared to address concerns about the survey's environmental impact. The wetlands activity permit issued by DEP requires the company to restore "using hand tools" any habitat damaged by the survey vehicles, and it encourages crews to remove any invasive plant species they encounter.
The survey trucks' wide, balloon tires will be less damaging than off-road vehicle tires, said Burnett spokesman Ryan Duffy.
The survey would cover an area between active well fields in the eastern and northwestern parts of the preserve, far from recreational areas. In addition to the state permit, the park service could impose additional stipulations on Burnett to mitigate any environmental damage, said Ron Clark, the preserve's chief resource manager.
Drilling has been a rarity east of the Big Cypress. In 1985, a Texas company drilled in western Broward County, but that well was plugged and abandoned the same year, according to DEP.
The Kanter permit application calls for a 5-acre operation to drill down 11,800 feet.
In a statement, John Kanter said the application is "one of the first steps in a long-term plan that includes proposed mining, as well as water storage and water quality improvement components that have the potential for assisting with Everglades Restoration."
His family has owned the Broward County property slated for exploratory drilling for over 50 years. "As stewards of this land, we are fully invested in ensuring this project provides maximum public benefit while also providing Florida with solutions for water storage and treatment in South Florida," he said.
Environmental groups and some local elected officials say any drilling expansion threatens the region's water supply and Everglades restoration plans.
"Florida law asks the driller to do the best job possible, but it doesn't say you can't drill for oil in wetlands, in the Everglades, in panther habitat," said Matt Schwartz, executive director of the South Florida Wildlands Association.
In Miramar, the city 5 miles from the where Kanter wants to drill, the mayor and city commission recently voted to oppose the plan because of the threat to their drinking water.
Bonita Springs is over 30 miles from the Big Cypress and hasn't been a target for drilling, but the city council last week unanimously approved an ordinance banning fracking within city limits.
---
Dearen reported from Gainesville, Florida.
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Florida Everglades Oil Boom Raises Environmental Concerns

Florida Everglades Oil Boom Raises Environmental Concerns. Renewed hunts for...

The deep oceans span more than half the globe and their frigid depths have long been known to contain vast, untapped deposits of prized minerals. These treasures of the abyss, however, have always been out of reach to miners.
But now, the era of deep sea mining appears to be dawning fueled by technological advances in robotics and dwindling land-based deposits. Rising demand for copper, cobalt, gold and the rare-earth elements vital in manufacturing smartphones and other high-tech products is causing a prospecting rush to the dark seafloor thousands of meters (yards) beneath the waves.
With authorities at the Jamaica-based International Seabed Authority issuing exploration contracts, alarmed conservationists are warning that the deep ocean's fragile biodiversity must be protected and not nearly enough is known about the risks of extracting minerals from seabeds.
"The pace of activity has increased dramatically over the last five years," said Michael Lodge, deputy secretary-general of the obscure U.N. body in Kingston that acts as a global steward of the deep seafloor and is tasked with regulating this new mining frontier. "We're seeing the private sector invest in a big way."
The U.N. agency, known by its initials ISA, presides over seabed outside the exclusive territorial waters of individual countries. So far, it has issued 27 exploration contracts, the large majority of them since 2011. The 15-year contracts allow for mineral prospecting on over 1 million square kilometers (over 390,000 sq. miles) of seabed in the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans.
Governments and private companies have been moving so rapidly to stake claims and assess deposits that insiders forecast that commercial deep-sea mining could start within the next five years using robotic collectors equipped with cameras and sonar sensors along with pipe systems that can siphon crushed minerals to ships.
During a gathering this month in Jamaica of representatives from nearly 170 member states, ISA has started drafting a framework to regulate commercial exploitation of seafloor metals and minerals. The session ended Friday.
A group of international scientists, in a July 9 article in the journal Science, urged ISA to temporarily halt authorization of new mining contracts until networks of "marine protected areas" are established around areas targeted for mining.
"We owe it to future generations to ensure that we think before we act and gain a thorough understanding of the potential impacts of mining in the deep sea before any mining is permitted," said Matthew Gianni, co-founder of the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition, which sent observers to ISA's 21st session in Kingston.
But despite the warnings, in recent days ISA authorized its latest exploration contract, a 72,745 square kilometer (28,087 sq. mile) permit in the Pacific to China Minmetals Corp., sponsored by Beijing. China now has the most permits from the U.N. body with four.
ISA was launched in 1994 and operates under the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea. The only major maritime power that has not ratified the convention is the United States, where lawmakers have argued it could impinge on U.S. economic and military sovereignty. The Department of the Interior has granted exploration licenses in the Pacific to Lockheed Martin Corp., a U.S. company that has also partnered with the United Kingdom, an ISA member, by setting up a deep-sea mining subsidiary there.
So far, most of ISA's contracts have been issued for the deep abyssal plains of the Clarion-Clipperton Fracture Zone, a sprawling area of the Pacific Ocean off Mexico and the U.S. At depths of 4,000 to 6,000 meters, it is known to be rich in nodules containing copper, cobalt, manganese and significant concentrations of rare-earth elements. As part of an environmental plan, ISA has set aside nine areas in this zone, prohibiting them to contractors.
Other coveted exploration areas contain copper-rich sulphides formed around hydrothermal vents and black cobalt crusts created along the slopes of seamounts and volcanic mountain ranges. These biologically complex areas are found in the Western Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans. ISA literature estimates that one site could provide up to 25 percent of the annual global market for cobalt.
"The concentrations of minerals that you find in the seabed are very much richer than what's left on land. So demand is only going to increase," Lodge said.
Douglas McCauley, an ecologist and conservation biologist at the University of California, Santa Barbara, said seabed mining and other industrial activities like ocean-based power generation and farming indicates that mankind is on the cusp of launching a "marine industrial revolution."
Current proposals for the oceans over the next several decades "look uncomfortably similar to what we did to land in the 1700s and 1800s," he said, adding that the onset of the land-based industrialization was associated with a spike in animal extinction rates.
But there are basic things humanity can do to approach seabed mining intelligently, he said. First, learn what biodiversity is down there before we mine. Second, go slowly on exploitation contracts and study the impacts of this mining as it is happening. Third, set up systems of protected areas before, not after, mining starts.
"The terrestrial industrial revolution happened before we had the tools to manage goals for development and goals for sustaining biodiversity. You can't really blame people in the 1700s for the damage they did to the environment..." he said. "But we certainly are to blame if we don't do seabed mining properly."
---
David McFadden on Twitter: <a href="http://twitter.com/dmcfadd" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">http://twitter.com/dmcfadd</a>
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Next Environmental Issue? Deep Sea Mining

The deep oceans span more than half the globe and...

Hilary Clinton Acknowledges Global Warming And Offers Energy Plan. Hillary Rodham Clinton is detailing new energy plan in Iowa to address climate change. She calls global warming one of the "most urgent threats of our time."
But she's still not taking a position on the Keystone XL oil pipeline.
The <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=democratic&amp;cvid=853c3c467ca94439835c43cedb331e3a&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">Democratic</a> presidential contender is proposing that every home in the United States be powered by renewable sources by 2027. Her plan calls for installation of 500 million solar panels over four years.
Clinton laid out clean-energy ideas during a tour of a regional bus station in Des Moines, Iowa, on Monday. Hilary Clinton Acknowledges Global Warming And Offers Energy Plan
When asked about the Keystone XL oil pipeline opposed by environmental activists, she would not comment except to say she wants a State Department review of the project to run its course.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton says climate change is real and people are "just not paying attention" if they don't acknowledge it.
Addressing this issue Sunday, Clinton touted a program that would combat climate change at least in part by changing the tax code to promote renewable energy.
"This is not complicated folks," the former secretary of state told more than 200 people at Iowa State University. "I'm just a grandmother with two eyes and a<a href="http://www.earth.com/news/research-confirms-that-covid-19-enters-the-brain/"> brain</a>. And I know we're facing huge problem."
Climate change has become a key issue in the Democratic presidential primary, where Clinton is the heavy favorite. Hilary Clinton Acknowledges Global Warming And Offers Energy Plan
Clinton was scheduled to discuss the plan in detail during a public event in Des Moines Monday morning.
Billionaire Tom Steyer has led an effort to promote the issue. The California-based Steyer hosted a fundraiser for Clinton in May.
Clinton proposes, through tax incentives, to increase the amount of power derived from renewable sources to support every home in the United States within 10 years.
For instance, Clinton said she supports renewing the wind energy tax credit as part of over time shifting the U.S. energy system from one based on fossil fuels.
"We need to get the incentives fixed in our tax system which as you know are too heavily weighted toward fossil fuels," Clinton said during a day of campaigning in central Iowa.
Clinton also hinted that her plans would impose changes on the coal industry, though she also pledged the government's help for workers to make the transition.
"We can make a transition over time from a fossil fuel economy, predominantly, to a clean renewable energy economy, predominantly," Clinton said later during an event at a central Iowa rural home.
Weaning the country off of coal is a tricky political position in key places on the political battleground map. Southeast Ohio and western Pennsylvania are regions of states that have been pivotal in recent elections. And they remain the home of key coal-producing areas.
Crediting coal-miners for having "created an industrial revolution," Clinton said "it is important that we help them transition to a new economy."
Clinton's plan also includes the goal of installing 500 million solar panels within four years.
It would also increase capacity to the nation's power grid with a combination of renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, hydroelectric and geothermal.
The plan's estimated cost is about $60 billion over 10 years, and would be paid for by eliminating tax breaks for the oil and gas industry, Clinton spokesman Brian Fallon said.
Former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, also seeking the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination, noted Sunday that he unveiled a climate change plan in Iowa that addresses not just consumer energy use, but industrial and transportation, as well.
As governor, O'Malley doubled Maryland's renewable fuel production, and reduced greenhouse gases in the state by 10 percent during his two terms.
© 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

Hilary Clinton Acknowledges Global Warming And Offers Energy Plan

Hilary Clinton Acknowledges Global Warming And Offers Energy Plan. Hillary...

Bonneville Salt Flats Rapidly Declining. A small city of tents, trailers and thousands of visitors appears almost every August in the Utah desert to watch cars, motorcycles and anything with wheels rocket across gleaming white sheets of salt at speeds of 400 mph.
But wet weather has forced the cancellation of Speed Week for the second straight year and revived a debate about whether nearby mining is depleting the Bonneville <a href="http://www.earth.com/image/great-salt-lake-in-northern-utah/">Salt</a> Flats of their precious resource.
Racers say they have worried for decades that mining is draining an aquifer that helps replenish the flats each year, leaving smaller amounts of the smooth, hard salt that makes for a nearly glass-like surface for cars hurtling across the landscape. Bonneville Salt Flats Rapidly Declining
Federal land managers who oversee the flats say they don't have any evidence that the salt is being depleted and point to the anomaly of heavy rains around the time of the event this year and last year.
"The main international racetrack used to be 13 miles in length," said Stuart Gosswein with Save the Salt, a group of race aficionados that has raised the alarm. "Now we can't even find 7 miles."
The white, treeless landscape rimmed by purple mountains has served as a backdrop for films like "Independence Day," countless car commercials, TV shows and photo shoots. The flats, composed almost entirely of common table salt, have also attracted racers for more than 100 years with the hope that the hard, smooth track will help them beat the clock.
It's where David Abbott "Ab" Jenkins set an endurance record in 1940 with his vehicle, the "Mormon Meteor." It's also where New Zealand racer Burt Munro set speed records on his modified bike, including a 1967 record of 183.58 mph, which still stands today. The feat was later depicted in the 2005 Anthony Hopkins movie, "The World's Fastest Indian" - also filmed at the flats.
The annual Speed Week race in late summer is the largest annual racing event, drawing hundreds of teams and filling restaurants and hotel rooms in the nearby border cities of Wendover, Utah, and West Wendover, Nevada, with spectators and pit crews.
Wendover Mayor Mike Crawford, who owns an auto-parts shop in town, said the decision by race organizers to cancel this year's event while it is still weeks away will be a bigger economic blow than last year, when a monsoon storm left standing water on the track on the eve of the race. The event's organizer, the Southern California Timing Association, canceled the 2014 event after racers and fans had already arrived at their hotels.
"Nobody's going to go out of business, nobody's going to lay off people," Crawford said. But "it gives you a little bit of cushion to go through the winter, which is slow in Wendover."
Over six decades, organizers have canceled the race periodically due to weather. Before last year, the last time it was scuttled was in the 1990s.
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management, which oversees the flats, doesn't believe the flats are shrinking but is still requiring the mining company to pump brine onto the flats every winter and launch a detailed study of the salt crust later this year. Both are requirements of the company's permit issued in 2012, said Kevin Oliver, the manager of the BLM's west desert district.
Driving or racing doesn't damage the salt as long as the flats are dry and hard, according to the BLM.
Gosswein said his Save the Salt coalition doesn't want to wait for another study of the salt crust. They want to truck in dry salt to thicken the flats and are pressuring Utah's congressional delegation over management of the area.
"This thing has been studied to death," Gosswein said. "It's time to do something."
Timing association president Bill Lattin said he's seen the salt thick and thin over the 40-plus years he's been coming to Bonneville, but he's never seen as much mud covering the course as there is this year, with the spread not even sparing enough decent salt for organizers to scrape out a short 3-mile course.
Lattin suspects the brine that's pumped over the flats with the hope of rebuilding salt levels each year has instead trapped and pickled mud dumped from earlier storms, leaving the salt thin and rough.
Racers may be able to make up their time trials at an abbreviated event later this year, but it's entirely up to Mother Nature, he said.
"Man can't heal the salt the way it is. It needs time to just collect more salt, have more rain and do what it does naturally," Lattin said.
---
Follow Michelle L. Price at <a href="https://twitter.com/michellelprice" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://twitter.com/michellelprice</a> .
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Bonneville Salt Flats Rapidly Declining

Bonneville Salt Flats Rapidly Declining. A small city of tents,...

Hilary Clinton Acknowledges Global Warming And Offers Energy Plan. Hillary Rodham Clinton is detailing new energy plan in Iowa to address climate change. She calls global warming one of the "most urgent threats of our time."
But she's still not taking a position on the Keystone XL oil pipeline.
The Democratic presidential contender is proposing that every home in the United States be powered by renewable sources by 2027. Her plan calls for installation of 500 million solar panels over four years.
Clinton laid out clean-energy ideas during a tour of a regional bus station in Des Moines, Iowa, on Monday.
When asked about the Keystone XL <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/permafrost-soils-are-collapsing-under-rising-temperatures/">oil</a> pipeline opposed by environmental activists, she would not comment except to say she wants a State Department review of the project to run its course.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton says climate change is real and people are "just not paying attention" if they don't acknowledge it.
Addressing this issue Sunday, Clinton touted a program that would combat climate change at least in part by changing the tax code to promote renewable energy.
"This is not complicated folks," the former secretary of state told more than 200 people at Iowa State University. "I'm just a grandmother with two eyes and a brain. And I know we're facing huge problem."
Climate change has become a key issue in the Democratic presidential primary, where Clinton is the heavy favorite.
Clinton was scheduled to discuss the plan in detail during a public event in Des Moines Monday morning.
Billionaire Tom Steyer has led an effort to promote the issue. The California-based Steyer hosted a fundraiser for Clinton in May. Hilary Clinton Acknowledges Global Warming And Offers Energy Plan
Clinton proposes, through tax incentives, to increase the amount of power derived from renewable sources to support every home in the United States within 10 years.
For instance, Clinton said she supports renewing the wind energy tax credit as part of over time shifting the U.S. energy system from one based on fossil fuels.
"We need to get the incentives fixed in our tax system which as you know are too heavily weighted toward fossil fuels," Clinton said during a day of campaigning in central Iowa.
Clinton also hinted that her plans would impose changes on the coal industry, though she also pledged the government's help for workers to make the transition.
"We can make a transition over time from a fossil fuel economy, predominantly, to a clean renewable energy economy, predominantly," Clinton said later during an event at a central Iowa rural home.
Weaning the country off of coal is a tricky political position in key places on the political battleground map. Southeast Ohio and western Pennsylvania are regions of states that have been pivotal in recent elections. And they remain the home of key coal-producing areas.
Crediting coal-miners for having "created an industrial revolution," Clinton said "it is important that we help them transition to a new economy."
Clinton's plan also includes the goal of installing 500 million solar panels within four years.
It would also increase capacity to the nation's power grid with a combination of renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, hydroelectric and geothermal.
The plan's estimated cost is about $60 billion over 10 years, and would be paid for by eliminating tax breaks for the oil and gas industry, Clinton spokesman Brian Fallon said.
Former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, also seeking the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination, noted Sunday that he unveiled a climate change plan in Iowa that addresses not just consumer energy use, but industrial and transportation, as well.
As governor, O'Malley doubled Maryland's renewable fuel production, and reduced greenhouse gases in the state by 10 percent during his two terms.
© 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

 Hilary Clinton Acknowledges Global Warming And Offers Energy Plan. Hillary...

<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=lHHxOej4QfE
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Researchers found a correlation between Alzheimer's disease and traffic pollution.</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-invisible-threat-in-urban-air">Invisible threat in urban air</h2>



City dwellers face an unseen danger with every breath. New findings from Emory University researchers suggest that fine particulate matter from <a href="http://earth.com/news/traffic-related-air-pollution-might-increase-alzheimers-risk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">vehicle emissions may significantly elevate the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease</a>. The study examined brain tissue samples from 224 individuals who had confirmed diagnoses and volunteered their brains for scientific research.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-disturbing-connections-emerge">Disturbing connections emerge</h2>



Scientists analyzed neuritic plaques — protein clusters that characterize Alzheimer's — while mapping each participant's exposure to PM2.5 particles based on residential location and surrounding traffic density. The correlation proved more alarming than anticipated. Individuals experiencing higher pollution exposure showed nearly double the likelihood of elevated plaque accumulation in brain tissue.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-timing-matters">Timing matters</h2>



The research team discovered that pollution exposure during the final year before death demonstrated the strongest association with brain changes. This timeline suggests relatively rapid impacts from environmental toxins on neural health. The connection remained robust even after accounting for various demographic and health factors.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-genetic-vulnerability-patterns">Genetic vulnerability patterns</h2>



Perhaps most concerning, people lacking the APOE gene—which naturally predisposes individuals to Alzheimer's — exhibited more than twice the susceptibility to pollution-related brain damage. Study author Dr. Anke Huels noted this indicates environmental elements like air contamination could trigger the disease in cases where hereditary factors don't explain.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-public-health-implications">Public health implications</h2>



These findings, published in <a href="https://www.neurology.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Neurology</a>, underscore the critical importance of air quality regulations in urban planning. The research suggests that implementing stricter emission controls and promoting alternative transportation could serve as powerful tools in Alzheimer's prevention.



As cities worldwide grapple with growing traffic congestion and aging populations, this study highlights an urgent need for comprehensive approaches to environmental health that protect both our lungs and our minds.



—–



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Traffic fumes may trigger Alzheimer's

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHHxOej4QfE Researchers found a correlation between Alzheimer's disease and traffic...

<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=K0DuSr87SHY
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">57 million-year ice age mystery solved by Australian scientists.</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-when-earth-became-a-frozen-wasteland">When Earth became a frozen wasteland</h2>



Imagine Earth as a giant snowball, frozen solid from the North Pole to the equator. This wasn't the plot of a science fiction movie – it was our planet's reality 700 million years ago during an extreme ice age that has puzzled scientists for decades.



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



Australian researchers from the <a href="https://www.sydney.edu.au/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Sydney</a> have finally cracked one of geology's greatest mysteries: what caused the Sturtian glaciation and why it persisted for an unprecedented 57 million years. This period occurred long before dinosaurs roamed the Earth, when no complex plants or multicellular animals existed.



Dr. Adriana Dutkiewicz, the study's lead author, describes a world completely unlike today's climate. "Imagine the Earth almost completely frozen over," she explained. "The planet was blanketed in ice from poles to equator, and temperatures plunged."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-combination-of-climate-factors">The combination of climate factors</h2>



The research team discovered that this massive freeze resulted from a "double whammy" of geological events. First, plate tectonic activity reduced volcanic carbon dioxide emissions to historically low levels. Volcanic activity typically releases CO2 into the atmosphere, creating a greenhouse effect that keeps Earth warm.



Simultaneously, weathering of volcanic rocks in what is now Canada actively absorbed atmospheric CO2, further reducing greenhouse gas concentrations. When atmospheric carbon dioxide levels dropped below 200 parts per million – less than half of today's levels – glaciation engulfed the entire planet.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-modern-climate-implications">Modern climate implications</h2>



Published in the journal <a href="https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/geology" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Geology</a>, this research provides crucial insights into Earth's climate system. While geological climate changes occur over millions of years, the study emphasizes that human-induced climate change is happening at a pace ten times faster than previously observed natural changes, highlighting the urgent need to understand our planet's delicate climate balance.



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—–

What caused the planet's longest ice age

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0DuSr87SHY 57 million-year ice age mystery solved by Australian scientists....

<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=WXXGGiynIjs
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Greenland is not sinking. In fact, it is the opposite.</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-contrasting-climate-response">A contrasting climate response</h2>



Most coastal towns are <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sinking-land-will-intensify-the-effects-of-rising-sea-levels/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">preparing for higher sea levels</a>, but <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/greenland-no-longer-has-to-worry-about-rising-sea-levels/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Greenland presents</a> a different scenario during climate change. The ground there is rising at a remarkable rate. Over the past decade, some areas have lifted about 20 centimeters, which translates to roughly 2 meters per century. This rate significantly exceeds current projections for sea level rise.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-geological-rebound-process-through-climate-change">Geological rebound process through climate change</h2>



The mechanism behind this phenomenon is straightforward. As the ice sheet melts, the immense weight is removed from the bedrock, causing the land to rebound upward. This process resembles the way compressed material springs back when pressure is released.



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



Researchers at the <a href="https://www.dtu.dk/english/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Technical University of Denmark</a> are documenting this uplift using the GNET network, consisting of 61 GPS stations positioned around Greenland's coast. These sensors can detect movement with millimeter precision, providing detailed measurements of the ongoing changes.



The data reveal that current uplift rates exceed the gradual rebound occurring since the last ice age ended approximately 12,000 years ago. This acceleration corresponds directly with increased ice sheet melting rates.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-coastal-transformation">Coastal Transformation</h2>



This uplift is actively reshaping Greenland's coastline. New islands and rocky formations, called "skerries," are emerging as previously submerged land surfaces rise above the water level. This represents a notable contrast to global concerns about rising seas.



The study, published in Geophysical Research Letters, demonstrates the varied regional impacts of climate change. While many locations face rising water levels, Greenland's bedrock is literally rising above the surrounding seas.



The full study was recently published in <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2023GL104851" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Geophysical Research Letters</a>.



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Greenland's ground rises while coasts worldwide face higher seas

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXXGGiynIjs Greenland is not sinking. In fact, it is the...

<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=DSM3EVeGHJU
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Companies like MindStudio help companies train their employees to implement the latest AI Agent building platform.</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ai-agent-training-transforms-the-workplace-fear-factor-into-a-competitive-advantage">AI agent training transforms the workplace 'fear factor' into a competitive advantage</h2>



Organizations that offer comprehensive artificial intelligence training to their workers find remarkable value that extends well beyond basic <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mind-wandering-might-be-more-productive-than-you-think/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">productivity improvements</a>. Emerging research demonstrates that carefully crafted AI training programs <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ai-does-not-replace-human-creativity-but-enhances-it/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">enhance</a> corporate performance, lower operational costs, and dramatically improve employee psychological well-being by turning workplace uncertainty into professional empowerment.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-addressing-the-widespread-ai-anxiety-crisis-among-us">Addressing the widespread 'AI anxiety' crisis among us</h2>



A staggering 53% of employees expressed concern that the use of AI tools to automate work tasks could make them appear disposable to their employers, according to <a href="https://www.microsoft.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Microsoft</a>'s 2024 workplace survey. Such pervasive worry about being substituted by machines has caused what researchers have termed "AI technostress" – a psychological state that can result in occupational burnout and poorer mental well-being.



Data published in <a href="https://www.nature.com/palcomms/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Humanities and Social Sciences Communications</a> showed that belief in AI learning ability was a moderator in the link between technology adoption and work pressure, and higher confidence significantly lowered negative psychological responses. Workers provided ample training to become competent with AI software have significantly lower stress.



Companies like <a href="https://www.mindstudio.ai/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">MindStudio</a> have platforms for building what are known as "AI Agents". In essence, AI Agents are simply tools that employees can build for themselves or their teams quickly and inexpensively. MindStudio will even train entire companies, from the CEO on down, at no cost. By letting MindStudio empower employees, companies avoid hiring more IT staff, buying more software, and implementing solutions to problems that do not exist.



MindStudio even has partners locally for companies, like <a href="http://www.dominnus.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Dominnus</a> with offices in the Carolinas, California, and Denver, to help build AI Agents and support employees as they become resident AI experts for their organization. The training provided by MindStudio is applicable across other AI Agent building platforms as well.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-revolutionary-productivity-through-focused-learning">Revolutionary productivity through focused learning</h2>



Organizations that implement large-scale AI training programs achieve dramatic outcomes. Employees performed tasks significantly better when they utilized AI support compared to when they didn't, according to <a href="https://www.nngroup.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nielsen Norman Group</a> research findings. Their study documented productivity increases of 66% for a variety of professional tasks.



Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis research finds workers record 33% higher productivity in time working with generative AI tools. The benefit is equivalent to 5.4% of work time savings for AI users – around 2.2 hours per week for full-time workers.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-psychological-well-being-benefits-through-ai-competence">Psychological well-being benefits through AI competence</h2>



The emotional transformation when employees are provided with proper technology training is a fundamental transformation from fear to professional confidence. A survey of 600 employees across industries, carried out by ScienceDirect, proved that AI capabilities strengthen work environment commitment and improve job satisfaction.



A <a href="https://www.lut.fi/en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">LUT University</a> study discovered that AI adoption has no direct effect on workers' well-being but does so indirectly through working conditions like task optimization and safety protocols. Strategically deployed AI that involves correct training can actually increase workplace mental well-being.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-from-replacement-anxiety-to-partnership-confidence">From 'replacement anxiety' to 'partnership confidence'</h2>



Although 35% of those interviewed in recent McKinsey studies were concerned about workforce displacement, firms with large-scale training initiatives witness such fears dissipate quickly. The World Economic Forum found that two out of three respondents believe AI competencies will enhance their career prospects and job marketability.



This shift from fear to trust has measurable implications for job satisfaction. Applied Sciences research indicates AI can create tailored wellness programs based on individual employee requirements.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-financial-benefits-of-increased-retention">Financial benefits of increased retention</h2>



The mental health advantages of AI learning have a direct impact on organizational bottom lines in the form of a positive feedback cycle with high retention of employees. Recent ROI research validates that artificial intelligence learning has a beneficial impact on employee turnover and satisfaction levels.



PriceWaterhouseCoopers' research documents 20% to 30% improvements in productivity, market speed, and revenue in organizations that attempt systematic AI adoption through comprehensive training.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-environmental-advantages-of-ai-enabled-teams">Environmental advantages of AI-enabled teams</h2>



AI training has unforeseen environmental benefits as it makes the work environment more efficient. According to a study in Scientific Reports, the carbon footprint in writing and illustrating work is significantly lower when AI performs it compared to humans. AI software produces 130 to 1,500 times less CO2 equivalent per page of text created than human authors.



In addition, AI-driven remote work functionality significantly reduces environmental impact. Research by Cornell University and Microsoft indicates that remote workers reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 54% by not commuting daily to offices. Hybrid workers working remotely two to four days a week can reduce their carbon footprint by 11% to 29%.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cumulative-organizational-advantages">Cumulative organizational advantages</h2>



The compounding gains of better mental well-being, reduced turnover, increased productivity, and environmental benefits flow to enterprises from the pairing. McKinsey analysis estimates the long-term AI potential at $4.4 trillion in incremental productivity growth opportunity from business use cases.



As of now, 75% of knowledge workers globally utilize generative AI, mirroring widespread adoption patterns. Organizations that provide organized training and assistance see the most favorable results in productivity, worker satisfaction, and ecological sustainability.



The research overwhelmingly indicates that companies that invest in proper AI education, like that offered through <a href="https://www.mindstudio.ai" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">MindStudio</a>, establish win-win scenarios where employees are both more empowered and less stressed, and companies enjoy the gains of increased productivity, reduced turnover, and improved mental health outcomes throughout their workforce.



For more on MindStudio's free AI training for companies, visit the website's of MindStudio and Dominnus from the links below.



The research was published across a variety of peer-reviewed journals, including <a href="https://www.nature.com/palcomms/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Humanities and Social Sciences Communications</a>, <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/artificial-intelligence" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence</a>, and <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/journal/applsci">Applied Sciences</a>.



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MindStudio.AI: <a href="https://www.mindstudio.ai" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://www.mindstudio.ai</a>



Dominnus: <a href="https://www.dominnus.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://www.dominnus.com</a>

AI agent training boosts mental health and profits

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSM3EVeGHJU Companies like MindStudio help companies train their employees to...

<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HDXqTGEmi4
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Scientists give plants superpowers against bacterial disease</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-natural-solution-to-disease-through-crop-modification">A natural solution to disease through crop modification.</h2>



The agricultural industry stands at a crossroads between productivity and environmental responsibility, and crop modification often carries a negative connotation. While chemical pesticides have long been the go-to solution for crop protection, their harmful effects on ecosystems and human health have prompted scientists to seek alternatives. The recent breakthrough by <a href="https://www.southampton.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Southampton</a> researchers offers a promising path forward through the precise manipulation of plant-associated microbial communities.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-science-behind-microbial-partnerships">The science behind microbial partnerships</h2>



Plants naturally harbor diverse ecosystems of bacteria, fungi, and other microorganisms that function as biological allies. These microscopic partners contribute to disease resistance, nutrient absorption, and stress tolerance. However, until now, scientists lacked the tools to deliberately reshape these communities to enhance crop protection.



The Southampton team's approach centered on <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/engineered-plant-microbiomes-the-future-of-crop-protection/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">modifying lignin biosynthesis genes in rice plants</a>. This strategic intervention altered the plant's metabolic output, creating conditions that favored beneficial bacterial populations while suppressing harmful ones. The result was a living defense system embedded within the plant itself.



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



The successful demonstration against Xanthomonas oryzae, the pathogen responsible for bacterial blight in rice, represents more than a laboratory achievement. Rice feeds nearly half the world's population, and bacterial blight causes devastating crop losses annually. Traditional control methods rely heavily on pesticides that contaminate soil and water systems.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-looking-beyond-disease-resistance">Looking Beyond Disease Resistance</h2>



While disease protection represents the immediate application, the research framework opens doors to broader agricultural improvements. Future developments could engineer microbiomes to enhance nutrient uptake, reducing dependence on synthetic fertilizers. This dual benefit addresses both crop productivity and environmental sustainability.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-path-forward">The path forward</h2>



As this technology advances from laboratory to field applications, it promises to reshape sustainable agriculture. The ability to program plants with their own biological defense systems could herald a new era where crops protect themselves naturally, reducing chemical inputs while maintaining yields necessary for global food security.



The study is published in the journal&nbsp;<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-44335-3" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature Communications</a>.



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Revolutionizing agriculture through microbiome engineering

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HDXqTGEmi4 Scientists give plants superpowers against bacterial disease A natural...

<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=kVywlgRJXsc
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Some children read facial expressions when making food choices.</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-other-people-s-reactions-influence-children-s-eating-habits">Other people's reactions influence children's eating habits</h2>



Many children are finicky eaters, but research explains how <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-have-learned-why-so-many-kids-dislike-vegetables/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">watching others eat and social modeling</a> influence the eating habits of children.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Study Methodology Demonstrates Social Learning Impact</h2>



Researchers at <a href="https://www.aston.ac.uk/hls/school-of-psychology" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Aston University School of Psychology</a> have published findings in Frontiers in Psychology that illuminate the neurobiological foundations of food preference development through observational learning. The investigation employed controlled video stimuli featuring adults consuming raw broccoli while displaying systematically varied facial expressions to measure participant responses.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Asymmetrical Response Patterns Identified</h2>



The research, conducted with 204 female participants, revealed a pronounced asymmetry in social modeling effects. Negative facial expressions during vegetable consumption significantly diminished observer food preference ratings, while positive expressions failed to produce corresponding increases in vegetable appeal. This finding challenges conventional assumptions about the bidirectional nature of social influence in dietary behavior formation.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Evolutionary Psychology Framework Applied</h2>



Dr. Katie Edwards and her research team propose that these results reflect adaptive mechanisms developed through evolutionary processes. The heightened sensitivity to disgust expressions likely functions as a protective system, enabling individuals to identify potentially harmful foods through social cues without direct risk exposure.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Clinical and Educational Implications</h2>



These findings carry substantial implications for pediatric nutrition interventions and family meal dynamics. The research suggests that parental expressions of distaste during vegetable consumption may inadvertently reinforce children's existing food aversions through unconscious social transmission pathways.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Future Research Directions</h2>



The study establishes a foundation for expanded investigation into real-time social modeling effects and cross-demographic applicability. Researchers emphasize the necessity for longitudinal studies examining actual consumption behaviors rather than preference ratings alone, particularly within family contexts where social learning occurs most frequently.



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Social modeling affects our food choices

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVywlgRJXsc Some children read facial expressions when making food choices....

<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=JynHpMaNO8A
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Chaotic cancer protein finally controlled after decades of mystery</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cancer-causing-protein-bound-and-blocked">Cancer-causing protein bound and blocked</h2>



In a discovery that can one day revolutionize cancer treatment, researchers at the <a href="https://www.ucr.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of California, Riverside</a> have successfully developed a means of controlling MYC, a notoriously slippery protein that causes approximately <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/chaotic-protein-that-fuels-75-of-cancers-can-be-controlled/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">75% of all cancers in humans</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-makes-myc-different">What makes MYC different</h2>



MYC presents a unique challenge when studying cancer. Normally, this protein plays a vital role in healthy cells. It carefully controls transcription - the process that converts genetic information from DNA and RNA into proteins.



However, cancer changes everything. In cancer cells, MYC becomes a destructive force. It operates in overdrive mode with no regulation whatsoever.



Professor Min Xue, who led the research team, explains it simply: "MYC is less like food for cancer cells and more like a steroid. It drives cancer's aggressive growth." This superactive behavior makes MYC involved in three out of every four cancer cases.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-myc-is-hard-to-target">Why MYC is hard to target</h2>



Despite its clear role in cancer, targeting MYC has been one of medicine's biggest challenges. The main problem lies in MYC's unusual structure - or rather, its complete lack of structure.



Professor Xue describes the protein as "basically a glob of randomness." This means conventional drug discovery methods don't work. These traditional approaches rely on sharply defined protein structures. MYC simply doesn't have one.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">A New Approach to Fighting MYC</h2>



The UCR research team developed a clever solution. They designed a special peptide molecule that could selectively bind to MYC. More importantly, this peptide could block MYC's destructive activity.



The key was fine-tuning two specific features: the peptide's stiffness and its shape. Through careful adjustments, researchers achieved something remarkable. They reached "sub-micro-molar affinity" - meaning their peptide binds as strongly as antibodies do.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-breakthrough-results">Breakthrough results</h2>



This accomplishment represents a major leap beyond previous attempts. The researchers enhanced their peptide's binding strength by two orders of magnitude. This dramatic improvement brings the work significantly closer to practical drug development goals.



The research opens new possibilities for treating the vast majority of cancers where MYC plays a destructive role.



The researchers are presently optimizing peptide-delivery systems based on lipid nanoparticles that deliver the peptide effectively into cancer cells. The<a href="https://www.nih.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"> National Institutes of Health</a> and the <a href="https://www.defense.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">U.S. Department of Defense</a> funded the study, which appeared in the Journal of the <a href="https://www.acs.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">American Chemical Society</a>. This research offers renewed hope against cancer, and it can potentially open a door to more effective cancer therapies for most cancer patients worldwide.



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The protein that fuels 3 out of 4 cancers has been controlled

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JynHpMaNO8A Chaotic cancer protein finally controlled after decades of mystery...

<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=Veg4HmmRVZY
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Our bodies hits two 'aging cliffs' at these ages.</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-scientists-map-exact-ages-when-your-body-rapidly-ages">Scientists Map Exact Ages When Your Body Rapidly Ages</h2>



Scientists have <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/human-bodies-begin-breaking-down-two-very-precise-ages/#google_vignette">discovered that aging</a> isn't the gradual, steady process many assume it to be. Instead, researchers from Stanford Medicine have found that our bodies undergo dramatic molecular changes at two specific ages: 44 and 60. This research, published in Nature Aging, reveals that aging happens in sudden bursts rather than smooth transitions.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-two-waves-of-rapid-aging">Two waves of rapid aging</h2>



The Stanford study tracked over 135,000 different molecules and microbes in 108 participants aged 25 to 75 over several years. Results showed that 81% of all molecules studied exhibited non-linear changes, meaning they shifted dramatically at certain ages rather than changing gradually over time.



Michael Snyder, chair of genetics at Stanford School of Medicine and the study's senior author, noted significant findings. "We're not just changing gradually over time; there are some really dramatic changes. It turns out the mid-40s is a time of dramatic change, as is the early 60s. And that's true no matter what class of molecules you look at."



The first wave of changes occurs around age 44, affecting molecules related to alcohol metabolism, caffeine processing, lipid <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/age-related-changes-in-metabolism-dont-match-our-expectations/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">metabolism</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/heart-disease-remains-the-leading-cause-of-death-worldwide/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">cardiovascular disease</a>, and skin and muscle function. The second wave hits around age 60, involving changes in carbohydrate metabolism, immune regulation, kidney function, and again cardiovascular and muscle health.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-happens-during-these-aging-bursts">What happens during these aging bursts</h2>



During the mid-40s transformation, researchers observed significant changes in how the body processes alcohol and fats. This period often coincides with increased stress levels in many people's lives, potentially contributing to lifestyle factors that accelerate these molecular shifts.



"It's possible some of these changes could be tied to lifestyle or behavioral factors that cluster at these age groups, rather than being driven by biological factors," Snyder explained. For instance, alcohol metabolism dysfunction might result from increased consumption during the typically stressful mid-40s period.



The changes at age 60 are perhaps less surprising, as this is when many age-related diseases begin to manifest more prominently. The molecular shifts affect immune function and kidney health, both critical for maintaining overall wellness as we enter our senior years.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-latest-research-confirms-aging-patterns">Latest research confirms aging patterns</h2>



Recent 2025 studies have validated these findings. Research examining tissue samples from 76 people found similar aging patterns, noting an "inflection point" between ages 45 and 55.



Scientists discovered that blood vessels, particularly the aorta, age fastest among all body tissues. This vascular aging may drive aging in other body parts, highlighting cardiovascular health's central role in the aging process.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cellular-changes-and-microbiome-shifts">Cellular changes and microbiome shifts</h2>



The Stanford research revealed that these aging bursts affect our microbiome – the trillions of bacteria, viruses, and fungi living in and on our bodies. These microbial communities undergo substantial shifts during both aging periods, potentially affecting everything from digestion to immune function.



Additionally, researchers found that protein production and gene expression begin to fall out of sync as we age. This breakdown in cellular communication becomes especially pronounced during the two aging waves, contributing to the accumulation of damaged proteins associated with diseases such as <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/alzheimers-may-not-be-brain-disorder-important-data-was-fabricated/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Alzheimer's</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-health-implications-and-longevity-considerations">Health implications and longevity considerations</h2>



Understanding these aging patterns has important implications for healthcare strategies. Research suggests that people should pay particular attention to their health during their 40s and 60s, when these dramatic molecular changes occur.



Snyder emphasized the importance of proactive health measures. "I'm a big believer that we should try to adjust our lifestyles while we're still healthy," he noted. This might include increasing exercise to protect heart health and maintain muscle mass, or reducing alcohol consumption in the 40s as the body's ability to metabolize it declines.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-new-approaches-to-anti-aging-treatment">New approaches to anti-aging treatment</h2>



Aging research has seen notable advances in 2025. Harvard Medical School scientists developed chemical cocktails that reverse cellular aging without genetic modification. These six combinations restored aged cells to youthfulness in under a week, offering safer alternatives to gene therapy.



Researchers identified new biomarkers like "InflammAge," a saliva-based test measuring chronic inflammation associated with aging. This non-invasive approach could change how we monitor aging and intervention.



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



Emerging technologies including artificial intelligence, cellular reprogramming, and senolytic therapies, are opening new possibilities for extending healthspan. Companies develop treatments targeting aging's fundamental mechanisms rather than just managing age-related diseases.



The Stanford findings provide a roadmap for implementing preventive measures. Rather than waiting for symptoms, people can prepare for and potentially mitigate these predictable aging waves.



As aging understanding evolves, one thing becomes clear: aging isn't inevitable decline, but specific biological events we may learn to prevent or reverse. The key is recognizing when these transitions occur and taking proactive health steps during vulnerable periods.



The study was published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/nataging" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature Aging</a>.



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Scientists discover we age in bursts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Veg4HmmRVZY Our bodies hits two 'aging cliffs' at these ages....

<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=PqlF0XKzHY4
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">The hidden science behind tickling.</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-scientists-discover-the-brain-s-tickling-command-center">Scientists discover the brain's 'tickling command center'</h2>



Researchers have finally solved one of humanity's most enduring mysteries: why we can't <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/after-centuries-of-debate-we-still-dont-know-how-tickling-works/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tickle</a> ourselves and what makes some people incredibly ticklish while others barely react? Recent scientific discoveries are revolutionizing our understanding of this peculiar human behavior.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-breakthrough-discovery-in-the-brain">Breakthrough discovery in the brain</h2>



In 2023, Dr. Michael Brecht's team at <a href="https://www.hu-berlin.de/en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Humboldt University</a>-<a href="https://www.hu-berlin.de/en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Berlin</a> made a major discovery published in the <a href="https://www.cell.com/iscience/fulltext/S2589-0042(22)01991-5" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">journal Neuron</a>. They identified the brain's actual "tickling command center" – specific neurons in a region called the periaqueductal gray that control both tickling responses and play behavior.



When researchers used cutting-edge optogenetic technology to shut down these neurons in laboratory rats, something remarkable happened. The animals completely lost their ability to be tickled or engage in playful behavior.



"We found that global blockade of the rat periaqueductal gray with either muscimol or lidocaine interfered with ticklishness and play," the research team reported in their study.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-two-types-of-tickling-revealed">Two types of tickling revealed</h2>



What we call "tickling" is two completely different phenomena, according to the latest research. Light tickling – that feathery sensation that makes you want to scratch – is essentially your body's sophisticated bug detection system. This alerts you to potential insects or parasites on your skin.



Deep tickling – the kind that makes you laugh uncontrollably – involves complex brain circuits and is fundamentally social. You literally cannot tickle yourself with this type of stimulation.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-self-tickling-is-impossible">Why self-tickling is impossible</h2>



Your cerebellum acts like a prediction machine, recent findings show. When you move your own hand to touch yourself, your brain generates precise predictions about what you will feel and then cancels out the tickling sensation through neural inhibition.



When someone else tickles you, your brain can't predict their movements, so the full tickling response activates. It's like your brain's way of distinguishing between self and others.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-individual-differences-explained">Individual differences explained</h2>



Individual differences in ticklishness depend on genetics, psychology, and even trust. Dr. Xinzhong Dong at <a href="https://www.jhu.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Johns Hopkins University</a> notes that people with denser nerve endings tend to be more sensitive.



Psychological factors matter just as much. You respond more strongly when tickled by people you trust, and anxiety completely shuts down tickling responses. This explains why the same physical stimulus can produce completely different reactions depending on who's doing the tickling.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-controlling-your-ticklishness">Controlling your ticklishness</h2>



Science offers answers for controlling your ticklishness. You can reduce tickling sensitivity through systematic desensitization – gradual exposure in controlled settings.



Dr. Konstantina Kilteni's 2025 research, published in <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adt0350" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Science Advances</a>, reveals another technique: place your hand on the tickler's hand. This allows your brain to partially predict the sensations, reducing the tickling response by up to 90 percent.



"Your brain is essentially learning to override its own reflexes," Kilteni explained in her review of tickling research.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-evolutionary-purpose-discovered">Evolutionary purpose discovered</h2>



From an evolutionary perspective, tickling serves vital functions according to <a href="https://www.umd.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Maryland</a> researcher Dr. Robert Provine's extensive studies. It trains our defense reflexes for vulnerable body areas and facilitates social bonding between family members.



Tickling-induced laughter is actually one of the first forms of communication between infants and caregivers. "Tickle involves a neurological self/nonself discrimination, providing the most primitive social scenario," Provine noted in his research.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-clinical-applications-emerge">Clinical applications emerge</h2>



Research shows people with autism spectrum disorder perceive touches as more ticklish than people without the condition. Investigating this difference could provide insight into brain differences and help advance autism research.



People with schizophrenia tend to experience self-touches similarly to external tickles, allowing them to essentially tickle themselves. This suggests altered sensory prediction mechanisms in the condition.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-animal-research-reveals-universal-nature">Animal research reveals universal nature</h2>



Scientists have discovered that many species beyond humans are ticklish. Rats emit ultrasonic "laughs" when tickled, while chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans all respond to tickling stimulation.



This widespread occurrence across species suggests that tickling serves fundamental biological and social functions that evolved long before humans developed complex language and culture.



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



Dr. Kilteni argues that tickling research deserves more scientific attention. "It is a complex interplay of motor, social, neurological, developmental, and evolutionary aspects," she stated in her recent review.



New haptic technologies and advanced research methodologies now permit scientists to investigate tickle sensation with unprecedented precision. Standardized experimental methods using mechanical tickling devices ensure consistent results across studies.



Recent findings published in Science Advances show that tickling research is opening new doors in neuroscience, potentially leading to a better understanding of social behavior, sensory processing, and neurological conditions.



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Scientists solve the mystery of tickling

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqlF0XKzHY4 The hidden science behind tickling. Scientists discover the brain's...

<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=elr4948_uOU
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Dr. Ronald Mallett from the University of Connecticut reveals secret mission to create working time travel device.</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-could-an-equation-truly-bend-time-a-physicist-s-decades-long-quest-to-rewrite-reality">Could an equation truly bend time? A physicist's decades-long quest to rewrite reality</h2>



Imagine the impossible: stepping back through time in a time machine, not in fantasy, but through a scientific endeavor driven by profound personal loss. For <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/astrophysicist-says-hes-cracked-the-equation-for-time-travel/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Dr. Ronald Mallett</a>, a distinguished astrophysicist and professor emeritus at the <a href="https://uconn.edu/">University of Connecticut</a>, this deeply human longing has fueled a lifelong mission. He claims to have discovered the equation that could unlock temporal displacement, pushing boundaries once deemed purely science fiction.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-profound-grief-that-forged-a-vision">A profound grief that forged a vision</h2>



Mallett's extraordinary pursuit began with devastating tragedy in 1955. At merely 10 years old, he endured his father Boyd's sudden death—a television repairman whose passion for science had ignited a similar spark in his young son. Boyd Mallett, only 33, succumbed to a heart attack, leaving behind a grief-stricken child searching for solace.



That solace came through H.G. Wells' The Time Machine. Within its pages, Mallett found a captivating concept: "Time is only a kind of Space." These words transformed from a literary phrase into a guiding principle, becoming the driving force behind his unwavering commitment to unraveling time's fundamental mysteries.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-from-humble-beginnings-to-academic-heights">From humble beginnings to academic heights</h2>



Mallett's journey was far from straightforward. After serving in the Air Force during the Vietnam War era, he utilized the GI Bill for higher education, earning his Ph.D. in physics from Pennsylvania State University in 1973 at the age of 28.



In 1975, he made history as the first African American professor in the University of Connecticut's physics department, achieving full professorship in 1987 before retiring in 2024 as professor emeritus.



Throughout these successful academic years, Mallett harbored his radical ambition as a closely guarded secret. "I kept my time travel goal a secret," he confessed. "I worried people would think I was nuts." His public research centered on black holes, serving as a "cover story" while he quietly developed his revolutionary time travel theory.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-breakthrough-moment">The breakthrough moment</h2>



His pivotal insight arrived while hospitalized for a heart condition—a profound irony given his father's heart attack started this journey. The breakthrough was elegantly simple yet revolutionary: "If gravity can bend time, and light can create gravity, then light can bend time."



"It turns out that black holes can create a gravitational field that could lead to the creation of time loops that could allow us to go back in time," he explained.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-blueprint-for-a-temporal-vortex">The blueprint for a temporal vortex</h2>



Mallett's vision for a functioning time machine replicates spacetime-warping phenomena around black holes. He offers a compelling analogy: "Picture a cup of coffee. Stir it with a spoon, and the coffee swirls. A spinning black hole does the same to spacetime."



In Einstein's general relativity, the universe is a dynamic fabric woven from space and time. Massive objects like black holes warp this fabric—an effect we perceive as gravity. Mallett theorizes that an intense, continuous, circulating beam of light from a ring of powerful lasers could replicate this gravitational torsion, effectively twisting time into a loop.



This "time loop" would theoretically allow information—or perhaps matter—to travel backward in time. He detailed this mathematical concept in his 2006 autobiography, Time Traveler: A Scientist's Personal Mission to Make Time Travel a Reality.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-published-research-and-recognition">Published research and recognition</h2>



His work, published in respected journals including <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/physics-letters-a" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Physics Letters A</a> and <a href="https://link.springer.com/journal/10701" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Foundations of Physics</a>, suggests circulating laser light could generate gravitational fields potent enough to create closed timelike curves, enabling time travel for data.



Mallett's research has gained worldwide media attention, featured on <a href="https://www.thisamericanlife.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">National Public Radio's This American Life</a>, the <a href="https://www.history.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">History Channel</a>, and <a href="https://www.today.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NBC's Today Show</a>. The widespread interest reflects both his compelling personal story and rigorous scientific approach.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-galactic-hurdles-and-persistent-skepticism">The galactic hurdles and persistent skepticism</h2>



While Mallett's equations captivate imagination, the path to reality faces immense obstacles. The energy requirement is staggering—Mallett acknowledges needing "galactic amounts of energy," far beyond current technological capabilities.



There's also a poignant limitation: even if realized, his machine could only send information back to when it was first activated, meaning it couldn't transport him to 1955 to prevent his father's death.



The scientific community remains skeptical. Physicists Ken Olum and Allen Everett argue that Mallett's proposed laser ring would need to be larger than the observable universe to achieve the necessary spacetime distortion. They invoke Stephen Hawking's chronology protection conjecture, suggesting physics may prevent macroscopic time travel.



Astrophysicist Paul Sutter has voiced doubts about Mallett's underlying mathematics, while science writer Brian Clegg finds the concept intriguing enough to warrant experimental investigation.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-legacy-that-transcends-time">A legacy that transcends time</h2>



Now approaching 80, Dr. Mallett remains steadfast. "I believe my work will show time travel is possible," he asserts. "Future generations will build on it in ways we can't yet imagine."



His equations, though yet to physically bend time, have bent our collective imagination. Ongoing public interest, evidenced by his continued media appearances and Spike Lee's film adaptation of his memoir, underscores his ideas' profound impact.



More than a scientific pursuit, Mallett's story testifies to human resilience, intellectual courage, and hope's enduring power. Whether his theoretical time machine ever materializes, his legacy is immeasurable—inspiring countless individuals to challenge conventional limits and perceive time not as an unyielding barrier, but as a boundless frontier awaiting exploration.







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Retired professor claims he solved time travel

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elr4948_uOU Dr. Ronald Mallett from the University of Connecticut reveals...

<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...

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Is chocolate the next nutritional powerhouse?

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

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Kainji Lake, a reservoir on the Niger River.



In 1968, Kainji Lake was created by the construction of the Kainji Dam. The Niger River, the third longest in Africa, enters the lake in the north.&nbsp;



According to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/rivers-in-the-american-west-are-a-lifesaving-resource-for-birds/">ESA</a>, the creation of the lake submerged Foge Island and the town of Bussa and permanently flooded other riverine settlements, leaving around 50,000 people displaced.&nbsp;



Large parts of Foge Island are temporarily exposed during low water tides, and the land is often used by migrating fishermen. Kainji Dam is a dam across the Niger River in Niger State of Central Nigeria. 



Wild mammals occur at relatively low densities due to illegal hunting. Lake Kainji has suffered a dramatic decline as a fishery due to the high numbers of artisanal and subsistence fisherfolk using the lake. It has been suggested that a period of closure, together with controlled fishing rights may help improve fish stocks.



Kainji Lake National Park is the oldest of its kind in Nigeria. The park contains three distinct areas: a part of the Kainji Lake, the Borgu Game Reserve to the west of the lake, and the Zugurma Game Reserve to the southeast. The park is home to around 65 mammal species, 350 bird species, and 30 species of reptiles and amphibians. 



Video/ Image Credit: European Space Agency&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.

Kainji Lake in north central Nigeria

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