<p>Italy’s Campi Flegrei has been restless again when it comes to earthquakes, and a new AI approach is helping scientists see what the ground is really doing. </p>



<p>In a peer-reviewed study, researchers from <a href="https://www.stanford.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Stanford University</a>, along with colleagues at INGV Osservatorio Vesuviano and the <a href="https://www.international.unina.it/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Naples Federico II</a>, reanalyzed continuous seismic records. The team found more than four times as many small earthquakes between January 21, 2022, and March 20, 2025.</p>



<p>The researchers did not detect any direct sign of magma moving upward. Instead, they highlighted very shallow hybrid quakes tied to the hydrothermal system.</p>



<p>That fuller picture matters because small events reveal where the crust is stressed and how energy is moving through the volcanic field. With cleaner detections and sharper locations, scientists can track changes faster and judge when activity starts to cluster in risky ways.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-clear-signals-urgent-stakes">Clear signals, urgent stakes</h2>



<p>“Seismicity could change at any time, and that may be the most important thing about this study: this capability of getting a clear view is now operational,” said study co-author Greg Beroza, a geophysics professor at Stanford University.</p>



<p>The <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/supervolcano-campi-flegrei-naples-italy-solfatara-crater-phlegraean-fields-signs-of-waking-up/">caldera</a> sits within the Neapolitan area, where more than half a million people live and work. That density means even modest shaking or ground movement can disrupt daily life, strain buildings, and complicate evacuations.</p>



<p>History shows why clarity is essential. During the 1982-1984 crisis, uplift and persistent earthquakes damaged structures across Pozzuoli. A major analysis documented that the events triggered the evacuation of about 40,000 people.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ai-turns-noise-into-earthquake-signals">AI turns noise into earthquake signals</h2>



<p>The team trained a machine learning workflow on continuous waveforms and used it to scan years of data consistently. That created one catalog rather than a patchwork of methods, so patterns stand out instead of becoming blurred.</p>



<p>AI did more than count earthquakes. The workflow sharpened event locations and magnitudes, turning noisy curves into clean signals that line up with mapped features and known hot zones. </p>



<p>That is the kind of precision emergency managers need when activity jumps in hours, not weeks. One payoff is a much clearer view of the caldera’s thin ring shaped structures and shallow faults. </p>



<p>Those features organize the small quakes and help separate background rumble from changes that could matter for public safety.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-volcano-under-quiet-strain">Volcano under quiet strain</h2>



<p>Campi Flegrei is a large caldera, the broad depression left by past eruptions, ringed by faults and dotted with old vents and fuming ground. It is not a single cone, it is a field where different parts can wake up at different times.</p>



<p>The region breathes over years through uplift and subsidence known as bradyseism. Those slow vertical motions have been recorded for centuries and often line up with swarms of small earthquakes.</p>



<p>In the new catalog, most activity sits at very shallow depths and traces a narrow ring fault system consistent with surface features and the zone now rising. </p>



<p>The authors reported no direct signature of magma rising toward the surface in this interval. This lowers near-term eruption concern but does not remove the need for close watching.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-faults-reveal-hidden-stress">Faults reveal hidden stress</h2>



<p>Faults are breaks in rock that slip when stress overcomes strength, and their length and orientation constrain how big an earthquake could be. When small <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/earthquakes-and-flood-zones-hidden-risks-in-the-pacific-northwest/">quakes</a> line up along a longer fault, planners can bound the upper size of plausible events rather than guess in the dark.</p>



<p>Seeing faults crisply also helps compare present unrest with past episodes. Shaking that migrates onto a new segment or clusters at the edge of the ring may signal a change in how the system stores and releases pressure.</p>



<p>Those signals are not predictions by themselves. They are inputs to models that weigh where stress is building, how close rocks are to failure, and what level of shaking the built environment can handle.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ai-refines-risk-planning">AI refines risk planning</h2>



<p>Near real-time detections let observatories update maps of active zones as conditions evolve. That supports decisions like where to inspect bridges, how to stage ambulances, or when to test public alerts before a busy weekend.</p>



<p>Sharper locations and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/can-we-detect-major-earthquakes-months-in-advance/">magnitudes</a> also help engineers validate expected shaking levels against what instruments record in town. With that feedback loop, officials can refine microzonation, revisit building priorities, and tune maintenance schedules before the next swarm.</p>



<p>Past experience is a warning here. During 1982-1984, the harbor shallowed and commerce paused, schools closed, and the government approved new housing to relocate residents. </p>



<p>Planning for unrest is not only about eruptions, it is about everyday disruptions that stack up when the ground keeps moving.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ai-helps-not-predicts">AI helps, not predicts</h2>



<p>The present results point to pressure within a shallow system, not direct <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/magma-layer-keeps-the-yellowstone-supervolcano-dormant/">magma</a> rise, during 2022-2025. That aligns with other independent work that has argued for pressure buildup and evolving stress in the crust during long stretches without eruption.</p>



<p>Unrest can still change quickly. More small quakes could organize into tighter clusters, or uplift rates could shift, and those changes would be visible fast with the new tools.</p>



<p>AI does not replace dense earthquake monitoring or local expertise. It helps analysts keep up when data surge, flag subtle changes that a human might miss after a long night, and focus attention on the signals that matter most.</p>



<p>The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adw9038" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>Science</em></a>.</p>



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AI detects earthquake surge beneath Europe’s most dangerous volcano

Italy’s Campi Flegrei has been restless again when it comes to earthquakes, and a new AI approach is helping scientists see what the ground is really doing. In a peer-reviewed study, researchers from Stanford University, along with colleagues at INGV Osservatorio Vesuviano and the University of Naples Federico II, reanalyzed continuous seismic records. The team found more than four times as many small earthquakes between January 21, 2022, and March 20, 2025. The researchers did not detect any direct sign of magma moving upward. Instead, they highlighted...

<p>It is not every day that a nearby, cataloged galaxy reveals a secret hiding in plain sight. A new study reports a complete Einstein ring, a near perfect loop of light made when a more distant galaxy’s glow is bent and magnified by a massive foreground galaxy.</p>



<p>The result arrives from <a href="https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Euclid" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Euclid</a>’s early observations and centers on <a href="https://wikisky.org/starview?object_type=2&amp;object_id=15057&amp;object_name=NGC+6505&amp;locale=PL" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NGC 6505</a>, a well known elliptical. The new analysis presents the first strong lens discovered by Euclid and pins down key numbers for both the lens and the hidden background source.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-einstein-ring-in-a-familiar-galaxy">Einstein ring in a familiar galaxy</h2>



<p>The ring encircles the core of NGC 6505 with an Einstein radius of about 2.5 arcseconds. </p>



<p>Spectroscopy identifies the background source at redshift z = 0.406 and the lens at z = 0.042, placing the ring at a physical scale of roughly 2.1 kiloparsecs in the lens plane, while remaining compact compared with the galaxy’s effective radius.</p>



<p>Euclid’s visible and near infrared images reach exceptionally high signal to noise. </p>



<p>That imaging, paired with follow up spectroscopy from the Keck Cosmic Web Imager (<a href="https://www2.keck.hawaii.edu/inst/kcwi/primer.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">KCWI</a>) and data from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (<a href="https://www.desi.lbl.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">DESI</a>), allowed precise modeling of the light and mass in the lens.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/einstein-ring_galaxy-ngc-6505_Euclid_ESA_1m.jpg"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/einstein-ring_galaxy-ngc-6505_Euclid_ESA_1s.webp" alt="This wide field shows the extended stellar halo of NGC 6505 and showcases the Einstein ring, surrounded by colorful foreground stars and background galaxies. Credit: ESA" class="wp-image-1982911"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption"><em>This wide field shows the extended stellar halo of NGC 6505 and showcases the Einstein ring, surrounded by colorful foreground stars and background galaxies. Click image to enlarge. Credit: ESA</em></figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-an-einstein-ring-tells-us">What an Einstein ring tells us</h2>



<p><a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/1003.5567" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Gravitational lensing</a> occurs when mass bends the path of light, causing background objects to be displaced, stretched, or multiply imaged. </p>



<p>In the special case where the alignment between source, lens, and observer is close to exact, the images merge into a ring whose radius encodes the mass inside it.</p>



<p>These systems serve many roles. They trace how matter, including invisible dark matter, is arranged in and around galaxies, and they can probe how the universe has grown over time by connecting lens statistics to cosmic expansion and structure growth.</p>



<p>Strong lenses also act as natural magnifying glasses for the lensed sources. That gives astronomers a clearer look at distant <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/galaxies-in-the-deep-universe-all-rotate-in-the-same-direction-leaving-scientists-baffled/">galaxies</a> than direct imaging alone can provide, especially when the lensing geometry boosts surface brightness and effective resolution.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/einstein-ring_infograpic_ESA_1m.jpg"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/einstein-ring_infograpic_ESA_1s.webp" alt="Infographic illustrating gravitational lensing and Einstein rings. Credit: ESA" class="wp-image-1982913"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption"><em>Infographic illustrating gravitational lensing and Einstein rings. Click image to enlarge. Credit: ESA</em></figcaption></figure>



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



<p>Low redshift lenses are uncommon, so a bright, complete ring around a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/zhulong-spiral-galaxy-like-milky-way-discovered-at-edge-of-universe-should-not-exist/">nearby galaxy</a> is a valuable laboratory. The small Einstein radius samples the inner region of the lens where stars dominate the mass budget.</p>



<p>Only a handful of comparably nearby systems have allowed similarly tight tests of stellar mass and orbital structure in the central kiloparsecs. </p>



<p>Classic examples include the lens 2237+0305 at z ≈ 0.039, known as the “<a href="https://adsabs.harvard.edu/full/1985AJ.....90..691H" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Einstein Cross</a>,” which has long anchored studies of galaxy center mass profiles.</p>



<p>NGC 6505 adds a cleaner geometry to that toolbox. The high quality Euclid imaging enables a detailed subtraction of the galaxy’s own light and a careful reconstruction of the lensed arcs.</p>



<p>With those pieces in place, the team could compare dynamical measurements to the mass implied by the ring and check for consistency. That cross check is essential when testing how mass is partitioned between stars and dark matter in galaxy cores.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-window-on-dark-matter-and-stars">A window on dark matter and stars</h2>



<p>The analysis measures a <a href="https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/questions/18947/what-does-the-velocity-dispersion-of-a-galaxy-mean" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">central velocity dispersion</a> of 303 ± 15 kilometers per second and combines it with the ring size to infer the enclosed mass. </p>



<p>Modeling points to a dark matter fraction of about 11 percent inside the Einstein radius, modest for that inner region but supported by the data.</p>



<p>Those constraints translate into a statement about the stellar initial mass function (IMF) in the galaxy’s center. </p>



<p>The team reports an IMF mismatch parameter of 1.26 with narrow uncertainties, indicating a heavier mix of low mass stars than a <a href="https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2005ASSL..327...41C/abstract" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Chabrier IMF</a>, but lighter than a Salpeter case in the same region.</p>



<p>That result aligns with emerging evidence that many massive ellipticals have bottom heavy IMFs in their inner parts, with gradients toward more Milky Way-like IMFs at larger radii. </p>



<p>It also highlights how nearby strong lenses sharpen those inferences by focusing on a small, well defined aperture in the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/space-tornadoes-discovered-at-the-center-of-our-galaxy/">galaxy center</a>.</p>



<p>The geometry here even reveals subtle departures from perfect ellipticity in the total mass distribution. The preferred models include mild “boxiness,” echoing features seen in the starlight and hinting at close ties between light and mass within the ring.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-comes-next-for-euclid">What comes next for Euclid</h2>



<p>Euclid is built to map more than a third of the sky and observe billions of galaxies out to roughly 10 billion light years, a scope that will flood <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/webb-captures-a-rare-einstein-ring-caused-by-light-bending/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">lensing studies</a> with statistics and rare gems alike. </p>



<p>The survey formally began routine science on February 14, 2024, and will run for about six years.</p>



<p>Forecasts suggest Euclid alone should uncover on the order of one hundred thousand reliable strong galaxy galaxy lenses, turning what used to be small samples into population studies. </p>



<p>That scale opens the door to percent level constraints on cosmological parameters when lensing is combined with other probes, as well as systematic tests of how <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dark-energy-might-be-fading-so-what-does-that-mean/">dark energy</a> influences growth of structure.</p>



<p>Finds like the NGC 6505 ring preview that future. They show Euclid can deliver exquisite detail on nearby systems while scanning the deep universe for the weak lensing signatures it was designed to measure.</p>



<p>The work was led by Conor M. O’Riordan of the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics (<a href="https://www.mpa-garching.mpg.de/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">MPA</a>), with critical involvement from Euclid Archive Scientist Bruno Altieri at the <a href="https://www.esa.int" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">European Space Agency</a> and Euclid Project Scientist Valeria Pettorino at ESA. Their combined efforts turned routine instrument checks into a discovery.</p>



<p>The study is published in <a href="https://www.aanda.org/articles/aa/full_html/2025/02/aa53014-24/aa53014-24.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>Astronomy &amp; Astrophysics</em></a>.</p>



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What appeared to be a normal galaxy concealed a ring of light never seen before

It is not every day that a nearby, cataloged galaxy...

<p>The gas that shields us from ultraviolet radiation is also a heat trapper. That tension sits at the heart of a new analysis that recalculates how much extra warming will come from changes in ozone over the next quarter century.</p>



<p>The headline result is stark, but the mechanics matter even more. The research was led by Professor Bill Collins at the <a href="https://www.reading.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Reading</a>.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ozone-recovery-and-pollution">Ozone recovery and pollution</h2>



<p>A multi-model study shows that without strong air pollution controls, ozone will add 0.268 ± 0.084 W/m² of extra heating between 2015 and 2050. This makes <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/the-ozone-layer-is-healing-will-the-hole-disappear-for-good/">ozone</a> the second-largest driver of near-term warming after carbon dioxide.</p>



<p>The team separated two drivers that push ozone upward. One is recovery of the high altitude layer as ozone depleting chemicals keep declining. </p>



<p>The other is the build up of ozone near and above the surface, fed by ozone <a href="https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/sites/default/files/2022-12/Ozone_Precursors.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">precursor</a> emissions such as methane and nitrogen oxides from industry, traffic, and agriculture.</p>



<p>Across seven state of the art Earth system and chemistry models, the signal was consistent. Roughly half of the added warming came from stratospheric recovery and half from tropospheric increases.</p>



<p>Those values exceed earlier estimates used by policymakers for the same scenario. The gap arises from the methods used to diagnose forcing and from how clouds, water vapor, and surface reflectivity respond to ozone changes.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-healing-ozone-also-traps-heat">Healing ozone also traps heat</h2>



<p>Ozone acts as a greenhouse gas by absorbing infrared <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ozone-pollution-threatens-tree-survival-across-western-u-s/">radiation</a>, particularly near 9.6 micrometers. Higher concentrations in the upper atmosphere trap more outgoing heat, but increases closer to the surface have an even stronger effect because the air there is denser and warmer.</p>



<p>The Montreal <a href="https://ozone.unep.org/treaties/montreal-protocol" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Protocol</a> phased out Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and Hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), saving the protective layer and cutting dangerous ultraviolet exposure, yet its success has a climate side effect because a thicker ozone layer also holds more heat.</p>



<p>“Countries are doing the right thing by continuing to ban chemicals called CFCs and HCFCs that damage the ozone layer above Earth. However, while this helps repair the protective ozone layer, we have found that this recovery in ozone will warm the planet more than we originally thought,” said Professor Collins.</p>



<p>The study’s message is not to second guess the treaty. It is to count this unavoidable warming correctly while accelerating cuts to the pollutants that create ozone in the lower atmosphere.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-pollution-today-warming-tomorrow">Pollution today, warming tomorrow</h2>



<p>Near the ground, the <a href="https://scied.ucar.edu/learning-zone/atmosphere/troposphere" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">troposphere</a> is where we live and where familiar emissions cook up ozone under sunlight. Those reactive gases are short lived, so trimming them yields benefits within years, and it eases a public health burden that hits lungs, hearts, and crops.</p>



<p>Ground level ozone raises risks of coughing, worsened asthma, and reduced lung function, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (<a href="https://www.epa.gov/ground-level-ozone-pollution/health-effects-ozone-pollution" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">EPA</a>).</p>



<p>“Air pollution from vehicles, factories and power plants also creates ozone near the ground, causing health problems and warming the planet,” said Professor Collins.</p>



<p>Because ozone links air quality and climate, steps that reduce methane, nitrogen oxides, and volatile organic compounds can cool the climate while cleaning the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/more-heat-cleaner-air-the-surprising-ozone-connection/">air</a>. The dual payoff is large in cities and rapidly industrializing regions where ozone chemistry is most active.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-metrics-change-warming-numbers">Metrics change warming numbers</h2>



<p>Climate science uses radiative forcing to tally how different agents change Earth’s energy budget. The effective radiative forcing (ERF) for ozone since 1750 is assessed at 0.47 [0.24 to 0.71] W/m², reflecting historical increases in tropospheric ozone as well as stratospheric changes.</p>



<p>ERF is powerful here because it includes fast adjustments in clouds, water vapor, and surface reflectivity that kick in when ozone changes, while leaving out the slower response of surface temperature. That makes ERF more representative of the actual climate push than methods that ignore these rapid adjustments.</p>



<p>By contrast, stratospheric temperature adjusted radiative forcing (SARF) accounts for the quick cooling or warming of the stratosphere but not other rapid adjustments. </p>



<p>The new analysis shows that for ozone changes driven by declining ozone depleting substances, ERF is roughly double SARF, meaning older approaches can undercount the climate push from the healing layer.</p>



<p>This metric choice is not a technical footnote. It influences how we attribute warming to different pollutants, how we design near term mitigation, and how we set expectations for temperature outcomes by mid century.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ozone-recovery-needs-pollution-cuts">Ozone recovery needs pollution cuts</h2>



<p>According to a <a href="https://csl.noaa.gov/assessments/ozone/2022/executivesummary/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NOAA report</a>, stratospheric ozone will continue to recover for decades, meaning the associated warming is effectively locked in regardless of air quality policies on the ground.</p>



<p>That does not weaken the case for the Montreal Protocol’s success or its health protections. It simply means climate planners should pencil a larger ozone line into their near-term forcing budgets and not assume a free climate bonus from the treaty’s chemical ban.</p>



<p>Where we do have leverage is on precursors. Cutting methane curbs a major source of global background <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/rocket-launches-threaten-earths-ozone-recovery/">ozone</a> and reduces warming on short time scales. </p>



<p>Tightening controls on nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds lowers urban and regional ozone peaks, improving health while shaving future climate forcing.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ozone-recovery-speeds-up-warming">Ozone recovery speeds up warming</h2>



<p>Ozone’s protective shield is on the mend, and that is non-negotiable for human and ecosystem health. </p>



<p>At the same time, the climate system will feel extra heat from both the healing layer above and the pollution made ozone below, and counting it correctly helps us choose smarter levers.</p>



<p>Practical steps include updating inventories with ERF-based ozone data, accelerating cuts to methane and ozone precursors, and upholding the Montreal Protocol. These measures protect health gains while aligning energy and air quality policy with the physics that truly drives warming.</p>



<p>The study is published in the journal <a href="https://acp.copernicus.org/articles/25/9031/2025/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics</em></a>.</p>



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Ozone recovery will amplify near-term global warming

The gas that shields us from ultraviolet radiation is also...

<p>When we picture Earth’s ancient landscapes, it’s easy to imagine vast braided rivers sprawling across barren land. For decades, geologists believed this was the norm until plant life colonized land about half a billion years ago. </p>



<p>Vegetation, experts argued, gave <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ancient-river-systems-suggest-that-mars-was-much-wetter-than-previously-believed/">rivers</a> the stability needed to curve gracefully into meandering paths. A new study from <a href="https://www.stanford.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Stanford University</a> now turns this long-held assumption on its head.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-origins-of-meandering-rivers">Origins of meandering rivers</h2>



<p>The research shows that unvegetated meandering rivers can leave behind deposits that closely resemble those of braided rivers. This finding suggests that geologists may have misread the rock record, leading to the conclusion that braided <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/discovery-about-earths-bending-rivers-could-help-us-find-water-on-other-planets/">rivers</a> dominated most of Earth’s first 4 billion years.</p>



<p>“With our study, we’re pushing back on the widely accepted story of what landscapes looked like when plant life first evolved on land,” said lead author Michael Hasson, a PhD student at the <a href="https://sustainability.stanford.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability</a>. </p>



<p>“We’re rewriting the story of the intertwined relationship between plants and rivers, which is a significant revision to our understanding of the history of the Earth.”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-role-of-floodplains">The role of floodplains</h2>



<p>Meandering <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ancient-arabia-was-once-green-and-lush-with-rivers-lakes-and-grasslands/">rivers</a> create floodplains, which are among the most abundant non-marine carbon stores on the planet. Overflows deposit mud and organic matter, locking carbon into the land for thousands of years. </p>



<p>These natural reservoirs influence atmospheric carbon dioxide, Earth’s thermostat. A better grasp of their history could refine models of climate, both ancient and future.</p>



<p>“Floodplains play an important role in determining how, when, and whether carbon is buried or released back into the atmosphere,” Hasson said. </p>



<p>“Based on this work, we argue carbon storage in floodplains would have been common for much longer than the classic paradigm that assumes meandering rivers only occurred over the last several hundred million years.”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tracking-modern-rivers">Tracking modern rivers</h2>



<p>To test their idea, the team analyzed satellite imagery of about 4,500 bends in 49 present-day meandering rivers. Roughly half lacked vegetation, while the rest were vegetated to varying degrees. </p>



<p>The researchers focused on point bars, sandy features that form along inside bends. Unlike braided rivers’ mid-channel bars, point bars migrate laterally, driving meandering forms over time.</p>



<p>Geologists have long tracked these sandy structures in ancient rocks to reconstruct river paths. If the bars seemed to shift downstream, the conclusion was a braided system. This method led to the assumption that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/rivers-are-releasing-a-massive-amount-of-carbon-dioxide-into-the-air/">rivers</a> transformed when plants first evolved.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-old-geology-lessons-were-mistaken">Old geology lessons were mistaken</h2>



<p>“In our paper, we show that this conclusion - which is taught in all geology curricula to this day - is most likely incorrect,” said study senior author Mathieu Lapôtre, assistant professor at the Doerr School of Sustainability.</p>



<p>The team found that without vegetation, point bars often drift downstream, mimicking braided behavior. Using standard geological techniques on such rivers today would misclassify them as braided.</p>



<p>“In other words, we show that, if one were to use the same criterion geologists use in ancient rocks on modern rivers, meandering rivers would be miscategorized as braided rivers,” Lapôtre said.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-meandering-rivers-shaped-climate">Meandering rivers shaped climate</h2>



<p>The implications are sweeping. If meandering rivers, with their carbon-rich floodplains, existed long before plants, then Earth’s carbon cycle operated differently than once thought. </p>



<p>This insight could reshape models of ancient climate shifts and sharpen predictions about current climate change.</p>



<p>“Understanding how our planet is going to respond to human-induced climate change hinges on having an accurate baseline for how it has responded to past perturbations,” Hasson said. “The rock record provides that baseline, but it’s only useful if we interpret it accurately.”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-revising-earth-s-story">Revising Earth’s story</h2>



<p>The study suggests that carbon cycling tied to river style has been misunderstood. By correcting this, scientists can gain clearer insight into both the deep past and the uncertain future.</p>



<p>“We’re suggesting that an important control on carbon cycling - where carbon is stored, and for how long, due to river type and floodplain creation - hasn’t been fully understood,” Hasson said. “Our study now points the way to better assessments.”</p>



<p>Researchers from the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.unipd.it/en/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Padova</a>&nbsp;and the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ubc.ca/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of British Columbia</a>&nbsp;also contributed to the study.</p>



<p>The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adv4939" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>Science</em></a>.</p>



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Meandering rivers shaped early landscapes before plants arrived

When we picture Earth’s ancient landscapes, it’s easy to imagine...

<p>Honey bees are at the heart of global food systems. Their tireless pollination supports crops, ecosystems, and economies. Habitat loss, pesticide exposure, climate extremes, and poor nutrition have threatened their survival in recent decades. </p>



<p>Beekeepers worldwide have reported unsustainable losses, raising alarms about the stability of food production. To address this crisis, experts are working on solutions that go beyond traditional hive management. </p>



<p>Scientists have now introduced a remarkable food source that can sustain honey bee <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/national-honey-bee-day-2025-why-pollinators-matter/">colonies</a> indefinitely, even without natural pollen.</p>



<p>The research comes from&nbsp;Washington State University (<a href="https://wsu.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">WSU</a>) and&nbsp;<a href="https://apixbiosciences.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">APIX Biosciences NV</a>&nbsp;in Belgium. The trials showed that nutritionally stressed colonies thrived on this specially designed diet.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-food-for-bees-on-the-brink">Food for bees on the brink</h2>



<p>The innovation mirrors the artificial diets long used for livestock and pets. It provides honey bees with every essential nutrient, potentially offering a critical strategy against rising colony collapse. </p>



<p>This advancement will strengthen global food security, since bees serve as vital pollinators for agriculture.</p>



<p>The new food resembles human “power bars.” These nutrient-rich bars are placed inside hives, where young bees process and distribute them to larvae and adults. </p>



<p>This directly addresses the growing issue of poor nutrition that has long plagued honey bee survival.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-bees-need-better-healthier-food">Bees need better, healthier food</h2>



<p>Changes in land use, urban expansion, and extreme weather all negatively impact nutrition for honey bees and other <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/heat-and-pollution-are-changing-the-buzz-of-bees/">pollinators</a>.</p>



<p>Study co-author Brandon Hopkin is a P.F. Thurber Endowed Distinguished Professor of pollinator ecology at WSU.</p>



<p>"Honey bees are generalists and do not get all their nutrition from a single source," said Hopkin. "They need variety in their diet to survive but find it increasingly difficult to find the continuous supply of pollen they need to sustain the colony."</p>



<p>Patrick Pilkington, CEO of APIX Biosciences US, emphasized the uniqueness of this breakthrough. "Until this study, honey bees were the only livestock that could not be maintained on a (human-made) feed," he said.</p>



<p>Trials showed that colonies under nutritional stress fared much better on the new diet compared to current feeding practices.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-building-a-better-bee-diet">Building a better bee diet</h2>



<p>The project took over a decade of research and global collaboration.&nbsp;Thierry Bogaert is the study's lead author and chairman of APIX Biosciences.</p>



<p>"The newly published work is the result of a Herculean scientific effort of three teams," Bogaert enthused. </p>



<p>"First, the founders and scientists of APIX Biosciences who tested thousands of combinations of ingredients on honey bees over more than 10 years to create this feed," Bogart continued.</p>



<p>"Second, the WSU team, with leading honey bee and field expertise. And third, leading beekeepers in California, together with extension teams, made large-scale, science-based field testing of feeds possible."</p>



<p>A major finding during the research was the discovery of isofucosterol, a nutrient found naturally in pollen. This molecule proved critical for bee <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/when-bees-arrive-late-flowers-may-vanish/#google_vignette">survival</a>.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-missing-piece-in-bee-diets">Missing piece in bee diets</h2>



<p>The study revealed that not all sterols in pollen play the same role for bees. For decades, 24-methylenecholesterol was considered the most critical sterol, but experiments showed that colonies could survive without it, though with some decline in brood production. </p>



<p>In contrast, removing isofucosterol had severe effects, including reduced brood growth and neuromuscular dysfunction.</p>



<p>Isofucosterol depletion caused bees to move sluggishly and exhibit impaired coordination, reducing their ability to forage and care for brood. Colonies missing this nutrient collapsed, proving it to be an essential sterol. </p>



<p>The researchers suggest that the nutrient's importance may stem from how it influences cell membranes and nerve functions. </p>



<p>Unlike other sterols, bees appear to conserve isofucosterol more carefully, suggesting an evolutionary mechanism to retain it for vital processes.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-trials-show-colonies-rebound">Trials show colonies rebound</h2>



<p>To confirm real-world effectiveness, the WSU team tested the diet with colonies in blueberry and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sunflower-family-tree-explains-evolution-of-flower-symmetry/">sunflower</a> fields. These environments are known to have poor pollen quality and typically stress colonies.</p>



<p>The study showed that colonies receiving the complete diet maintained higher survival and growth, while those on commercial substitutes or no feed declined sharply.</p>



<p>Interestingly, colonies on the new diet also displayed feed efficiency similar to natural pollen. For every capped brood cell produced, the bees consumed almost the same diet mass they would have with pollen. </p>



<p>This finding highlights that the artificial feed can truly substitute pollen, not just supplement it.</p>



<p>"Some beekeepers don't pollinate blueberries anymore because colonies suffer or die and the pollination fees don't cover the losses," Hopkins explained. </p>



<p>"<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/disease-attacking-blueberry-plants-is-spreading-around-the-world/">Blueberry</a> pollen isn't very nutritious for honey bees, and they aren't adapted well to pollinating that crop. But if they have this supplemental food source, beekeepers may return to pollinating those fields since they know their bees are more likely to survive."</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-saving-bees-securing-food">Saving bees, securing food</h2>



<p>Annual colony losses remain alarmingly high, highlighting the urgency of this breakthrough. The study demonstrated that colonies given the complete diet remained strong from spring through autumn, even during periods of transport, high-density storage, and natural pollen scarcity. </p>



<p>These larger, healthier colonies are better prepared for overwintering, a key predictor of survival in temperate climates.</p>



<p>"We are confident that the product will positively impact <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/smart-sensors-help-beekeepers-monitor-hive-health/">beekeepers</a> and growers once it's available to purchase in the U.S., targeted for mid-2026," Pilkington said. </p>



<p>"We are working with WSU and the beekeeping community across the U.S. to develop the best way to make use of this new tool in agricultural settings."</p>



<p>By addressing nutritional gaps, this innovation could reshape pollination practices, reduce losses, and strengthen the&nbsp;food systems&nbsp;that depend on honey bees.</p>



<p>The study is published in the journal <em><a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2024.3078" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences</a></em>.</p>



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Scientists create pollen-replacing superfood for honey bees, hoping to prevent extinction

Honey bees are at the heart of global food systems....

<p>For decades, biologists thought isolation on islands nudged animals toward smaller bodies, tamer behavior, and shrunken brains - an energy-saving suite dubbed “island syndrome.” </p>



<p>However, a new study of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/channel-island-foxes-threatened-by-low-genetic-diversity/">Channel Islands foxes</a> complicates that picture. Most of these cat-sized predators evolved relatively larger brains than their mainland gray fox cousins, suggesting that cognitive demands - more than isolation itself - can drive brain size.</p>



<p>The work, led by researchers at the <a href="https://dornsife.usc.edu/">USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences</a>, argues that brain evolution on islands is shaped by the pressures of survival on the ground.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-fox-brains-break-the-mold">Fox brains break the mold</h2>



<p>Lead author Kimberly Schoenberger argued that the results overturn a long-held assumption.</p>



<p>“It was most surprising to discover that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/study-reveals-how-darwins-giant-daisies-spread-into-distinct-niches/">island syndrome</a> isn’t one-size-fits-all," said Schoenberger. "When we looked at carnivores like Channel Island foxes, the pattern of smaller brains didn’t hold.”</p>



<p>That departure matters because most previous brain-size studies focused on island <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/forest-biodiversity-benefits-from-large-herbivores-like-elephants-and-moose/">herbivores</a> - animals that face different challenges than hunters and omnivores. </p>



<p>By spotlighting a small carnivore, the team shows that the “rules” of island evolution can fracture along ecological lines.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-six-islands-one-natural-experiment"><a></a>Six islands, one natural experiment</h2>



<p>The Channel Islands - an eight-island chain off Southern California - provide a rare, replicated testbed. Six islands host endemic fox subspecies. </p>



<p>The researchers compared those island foxes to mainland gray foxes, their closest living relatives and probable ancestors, and also contrasted the island subspecies with one another.</p>



<p>If isolation or island area alone drove brain shrinkage, the team would expect a simple pattern. Instead, they found that brain-to-body ratios lined up more closely with local habitat demands than with geography.</p>



<p>On five islands - Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa, Santa Catalina, San Clemente, and San Miguel - the foxes had relatively larger brains despite their smaller bodies.</p>



<p>Those <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/electrical-synapses-are-key-to-decision-making-in-animal-brains/">brains</a> showed deeper folds and ridges in regions tied to motor control and spatial processing. Such traits help the animals navigate rugged terrain, remember scattered resources, and compete for scarce shelter.</p>



<p>On two of those islands, foxes share space with rivals like the spotted skunk, raising the bar for fast decisions and agile movement.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-brains-shrink-when-survival-is-simple">Brains shrink when survival is simple</h2>



<p>San Nicolas, the most remote and resource-limited island in the study, told the opposite story. There, foxes had smaller relative brains. With few <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-chaos-caused-a-mass-extinction-of-top-marine-predators/">predators</a>, low biodiversity, and a thin menu of foods, the researchers inferred that the foxes faced fewer cognitive demands.</p>



<p>Under those constraints, conserving energy for the basics - staying warm, finding enough calories - may have outweighed the payoff of maintaining larger brain tissue.</p>



<p>“The Channel Island foxes show that brain size reduction is not a universal feature of island life,” Schoenberger said. “It depends on the pressures each species faces.”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-measuring-fox-minds-from-bones">Measuring fox minds from bones</h2>



<p>To trace brain evolution through time, the team worked with more than 250 skulls representing six island fox subspecies and four gray fox subspecies. These specimens came from the <a href="https://nhmlac.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County</a> and the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History.</p>



<p>The researchers first estimated body mass from skull measurements and validated those estimates against recorded weights from live-caught island foxes. That gave them a solid baseline for comparing brain-to-body ratios.</p>



<p>For brain size, they used microbeads to measure braincase volume - a reliable proxy when brains are absent. They then CT-scanned the skulls to build 3D models of the cranial cavities.</p>



<p>The scans confirmed the volume estimates and revealed subtle differences in the surfaces where brain folds press into bone. These patterns allowed the team to infer changes in regions linked to movement and spatial awareness.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-fox-brains-bend-to-fit">Fox brains bend to fit</h2>



<p>The digital reconstructions uncovered a telling feature: island foxes had shorter, more compact frontal areas of the braincase than mainland gray foxes. The researchers linked that to the foxes’ shorter snouts, which reduce available space at the front of the skull.</p>



<p>To compensate, the island foxes developed slightly deeper cortical folds and more pronounced ridges in that region. This preserved space for circuitry supporting motor control and navigation - skills especially useful for climbing trees and foraging in complex terrain.</p>



<p>Both island and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/trees-help-gray-foxes-coexist-with-coyotes/">gray foxes</a> are the only canids known to climb, but island foxes rely on arboreal foraging more often, likely because ground resources are leaner.</p>



<p>The study also found no difference in brain size between males and females. This points away from sexual selection and toward shared environmental pressures as the main driver of change.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-foxes-stayed-wild-with-humans">Foxes stayed wild with humans</h2>



<p>Genetic and radiocarbon evidence suggests foxes first reached the northern Channel Islands roughly 9,000 years ago. They may have arrived by rafting on storm debris or by swimming shorter channels when sea levels were lower.</p>



<p>Thousands of years later, Indigenous peoples may have helped move foxes to other islands - likely as pest control rather than pets.</p>



<p>Despite that long association with humans, island foxes never became truly domesticated. Unlike early <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dogs-are-evolving-to-fit-the-modern-lives-of-humans/">domestic dogs</a>, which show brain shrinkage as they grew dependent on people, island foxes retained wild-type behaviors and brain sizes befitting self-sufficient hunters.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-brains-matter-for-survival">Brains matter for survival</h2>



<p>As climate change and development carve mainland habitats into island-like fragments, understanding which traits help animals cope could guide management.</p>



<p>The Channel Islands fox suggests that cognitive flexibility and problem-solving can be part of the survival toolkit - when ecosystems still offer enough resources to support those costly traits. </p>



<p>Yet the foxes’ low genetic diversity makes them vulnerable to disease and rapid environmental shifts, underscoring the need to protect habitats that sustain both bodies and brains.</p>



<p>Island syndrome, it turns out, is not a single script but a library of local stories. On five Channel Islands, small bodies came paired with relatively big brains. On the sixth, the opposite prevailed. </p>



<p>Together, those outcomes point to a simple conclusion with big implications: the brain follows the work that needs doing, and on islands, that work depends on the world outside the skull as much as on the DNA within it.</p>



<p>The study is published in the journal <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0328893" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>PLOS One</em></a>.</p>



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Island foxes evolved bigger brains to help them survive

For decades, biologists thought isolation on islands nudged animals toward...

<p>Antarctica is edging toward abrupt, potentially irreversible climate shifts in its ice, oceans, and living systems. Those changes would reverberate far beyond the pole, accelerating sea level rise, altering climate, and disrupting marine life. The speed of warming means every fraction of a degree now matters.</p>



<p>A new study, led by researchers from the Australian National University (<a href="https://www.anu.edu.au/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ANU</a>) and the University of New South Wales (<a href="https://www.unsw.edu.au/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">UNSW</a>), working with scientists across Australia’s Antarctic research centers, pulls these strands together.</p>



<p>The experts warn that large, sudden changes are unfolding across the continent that interlink amplifying risks for the global climate, sea level, and ecosystems.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-west-antarctica-on-the-brink"><a></a>West Antarctica on the brink</h2>



<p>The researchers flagged the West Antarctic Ice Sheet as especially vulnerable as atmospheric carbon dioxide keeps rising. A large-scale collapse would add more than three meters (10 feet) to global sea levels, reshaping coasts and flooding cities.</p>



<p>According to study lead author Nerilie Abram, chief scientist at the <a href="https://www.antarctica.gov.au/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Australian Antarctic Division</a>, such a collapse would bring “catastrophic consequences for generations to come”.</p>



<p>“Rapid change has already been detected across Antarctica’s ice, oceans, and ecosystems, and this is set to worsen with every fraction of a degree of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/antarctica-in-distress-the-escalating-consequences-of-global-warming/">global warming</a>,” said Abram, who carried out this work during her time as a professor of climate science at ANU.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-antarctic-sea-ice-in-rapid-decline">Antarctic sea ice in rapid decline</h2>



<p>The loss of Antarctic <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/antarcticas-melting-ice-shelves-threaten-global-sea-levels/">sea ice</a> is another abrupt change that has a whole range of knock-on effects, including making the floating ice shelves around Antarctica more susceptible to wave-driven collapse. </p>



<p>"The decline in Antarctic sea ice and the slowdown of deep circulation in the Southern Ocean are showing worrying signs of being more susceptible to a warming climate than previously thought,” Abram said.</p>



<p>As sea ice disappears from the ocean surface around Antarctica, it changes how much solar heat the climate system retains, intensifying warming across the region.</p>



<p>“Other changes to the continent could soon become unstoppable, including the loss of Antarctic ice shelves and vulnerable parts of the Antarctic ice sheet that they hold behind them," she said.</p>



<p>These processes feed on one another. Less sea ice means a darker ocean that absorbs more sunlight. That extra heat accelerates melt and weakens ice shelves further. A sluggish overturning traps heat and carbon at the surface, weakening the Southern Ocean’s buffer against global warming.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-australia-faces-antarctic-fallout">Australia faces Antarctic fallout</h2>



<p>Study co-author Matthew England of UNSW and the <a href="https://antarctic.org.au/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ARC Australian Center for Excellence in Antarctic Science</a> warns that the impacts will be felt far beyond, but especially in Australia.</p>



<p>"Consequences for Australia include rising sea levels that will impact coastal communities, and a warmer and deoxygenated Southern Ocean being less able to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere," he said.</p>



<p>Warmer, lower-oxygen waters also stress fisheries and corrode the climate’s natural safety valves, compounding heat and drought on land. Planning for coastal protection, infrastructure, and insurance will need to assume faster, higher sea level rise.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-antarctic-wildlife-face-extinction-risk">Antarctic wildlife face extinction risk</h2>



<p>Ice loss is not only a physical problem. It is a biological one. “The loss of Antarctic sea ice brings heightened extinction risk for <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/emperor-penguins-may-disappear-in-our-lifetime/">emperor penguins</a>, whose chicks depend on a stable sea ice habitat prior to growing their waterproof feathers,” England said.</p>



<p>“The loss of entire colonies of chicks has been seen right around the Antarctic coast because of early sea ice breakout events, and some colonies have experienced multiple breeding failure events over the last decade.”</p>



<p>Ripple effects extend through the food web. Adult survival and breeding of krill, penguins, and seals are at risk. Warming and acidification strain keystone phytoplankton. As habitats contract and food chains fray, recovery becomes harder with each bad year.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ocean-currents-falter-life-suffers">Ocean currents falter, life suffers</h2>



<p>Another potential risk is a collapse in the Antarctic overturning circulation. That would mean vital nutrients stay at the seafloor instead of recirculating to the surface, where biological systems - including marine animals - depend on them.</p>



<p>A stalled conveyor would dim the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/southern-ocean-mystery-satellites-reveal-a-strange-glow/">Southern Ocean</a>’s productivity and undermine one of Earth’s great carbon sinks. </p>



<p>That is why, Abram stressed, local protections remain essential - but they cannot stop warming-driven impacts alone. Efforts under the Antarctic Treaty System to reduce pressures on ecosystems fall short unless we rapidly cut the root cause - greenhouse gas pollution.</p>



<p>“While critically important, these measures will not help to avoid climate-related impacts that are already beginning to unfold,” she said.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-antarctica-s-climate-decline">Antarctica’s climate decline</h2>



<p>There is still a chance to shape the future - the thermostat dictates the scale of abrupt change.</p>



<p>“The only way to avoid further abrupt changes and their far-reaching impacts is to reduce <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/2023-climate-change-report-record-high-temperatures-greenhouse-gases-sea-level-rise/">greenhouse gas emissions</a> fast enough to limit global warming to as close to 1.5°C (2.7°F) as possible,” Abram said.</p>



<p>“Governments, businesses, and communities will need to factor in these abrupt Antarctic changes that are being observed now into future planning for climate change impacts, including in Australia.”</p>



<p>That means faster emissions cuts, stronger resilience plans, and sustained investment in observing systems around Antarctica. </p>



<p>The message is stark but actionable: curb warming quickly, and the odds of crossing irreversible thresholds fall. Delay, and the continent’s ice, oceans, and ecosystems will lurch into states we cannot easily reverse.</p>



<p>The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09349-5"><em>Nature</em></a>.</p>



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Antarctica is approaching an irreversible climate tipping point

Antarctica is edging toward abrupt, potentially irreversible climate shifts in...

Chef,Preparing,Olive,Oil,In,A,Pan,For,Making,Rosemary

<p>If you've ever wondered whether changing your cooking oil could affect cancer growth, you're not alone. New research shows that the types of fats we eat might influence the rate at which cancer cells multiply. However, it is not as simple as avoiding certain foods.</p>



<p>Picture this: you have cancer, and your doctor advises doing nothing for now. Not yet. That may sound counterintuitive. But that’s exactly what happens to thousands of men with <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/heart-proteins-in-blood-may-predict-cancer-years-before-symptoms/">prostate cancer</a> every year. </p>



<p>Their tumors grow so slowly that surgery or radiation would hurt more than help. So they wait and undergo regular tests to monitor for changes.</p>



<p>This approach, known as “<a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/active-surveillance-for-prostate-cancer/about/pac-20384946" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">active surveillance</a>,” makes medical sense but can be stressful for patients. Men in this situation often ask the same question: Can I do anything to help myself? </p>



<p>A recent study reports part of an answer, and it involves dietary fats found in common cooking oils.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-fats-cooking-oils-and-cancer-cells">Fats, cooking oils, and cancer cells</h2>



<p>In the typical American diet, we consume too much of one type of fat and not enough of another. </p>



<p>Omega-6 fats are common in vegetable oils, fried foods, and many packaged products. Omega-3 fats are abundant in salmon and sardines. </p>



<p>Most Americans eat 15 to 20 times more <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8308533/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">omega-6 than omega-3</a>. Scientists think a ratio closer to 4:1 would be healthier. This imbalance may increase inflammation, creating conditions that allow cancer cells to grow.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-the-study-was-done">How the study was done</h2>



<p><a href="https://www.uclahealth.org/cancer/members/william-aronson" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Dr. William Aronson</a>, a urology professor at UCLA’s <a href="https://medschool.ucla.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">David Geffen School of Medicine</a>, tested whether modifying dietary fat intake could slow cancer growth. </p>



<p>“This is an important step toward understanding how diet can potentially influence prostate cancer outcomes,” said Aronson. </p>



<p>His team enrolled 100 men with early prostate cancer who were already on active surveillance, then they assigned the men to two groups. </p>



<p>Half ate their regular diet. The other half worked with a dietitian to eat less omega-6 and more omega-3, and to take fish oil supplements daily. No calorie counting or weight loss was required.</p>



<p>“Many men are interested in lifestyle changes, including diet, to help manage their cancer and prevent the progression of their disease," Aronson explained.</p>



<p>"Our findings suggest that something as simple as <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/want-to-slow-down-aging-add-these-foods-to-your-diet/">adjusting your diet</a> could potentially slow cancer growth and extend the time before more aggressive interventions are needed."</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tracking-tumor-growth">Tracking tumor growth</h2>



<p>The researchers needed a way to measure whether cancer cell growth was slowing. They used a marker called <a href="https://www.cancer.gov/publications/dictionaries/cancer-terms/def/ki-67-proliferation-index" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ki-67</a>, which indicates how quickly cells are dividing. High Ki-67 means cells are multiplying rapidly. Low Ki-67 indicates slower cell division.</p>



<p>Each participant received a biopsy at the start and another one year later. Notably, they used MRI guidance to sample the same spot in the tumor both times. Earlier studies often sampled non-targeted areas, making comparisons less precise.</p>



<p>After one year, the results diverged. Ki-67 levels dropped in the diet change group but rose in the regular diet group. </p>



<p>In other words, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ai-scientist-discovers-that-common-non-cancer-drugs-when-combined-can-kill-cancer-cells/">cancer cells</a> in the diet change group were dividing more slowly, while cells in the regular diet group were dividing faster.</p>



<p>However, some measures did not change: <a href="https://news.cuanschutz.edu/cancer-center/explaining-psa-numbers-prostate-cancer" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">PSA levels</a> and tumor grades remained similar in both groups. That is not unexpected; these measures rarely change over one year.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-fish-oil-and-cancer-cells">Fish oil and cancer cells</h2>



<p>Some participants left the study due to gastrointestinal side effects from fish oil. Fish oil can interact with blood thinners and other medications. <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fish-oil-omega-3-capsules-have-been-found-to-help-control-aggression/">Use fish oil</a> only under medical guidance.</p>



<p>More importantly, this study does not prove that eating fish will keep you out of the operating room. </p>



<p>“This significant difference suggests that the dietary changes may help slow cancer growth, potentially delaying or even preventing the need for more aggressive treatments,” Aronson continued. </p>



<p>This is a suggestion, not proof; larger, longer studies are needed.</p>



<p>The study was small and conducted at one hospital. That is enough to prompt interest but not to change clinical guidelines. Still, the researchers examined tumor tissue rather than relying solely on blood tests.</p>



<p>For those on active surveillance, the practical advice is straightforward. Cut back on fried foods and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/americas-addiction-to-ultra-processed-foods-is-getting-worse/">ultra-processed snacks</a>. Eat salmon or sardines twice a week. Consider eggs from hens fed flaxseed. Add chia seeds to breakfast. Small changes can add up.</p>



<p>Talk to your doctor before starting fish oil supplements. Product quality varies by brand; choose third-party tested products to minimize contaminants such as heavy metals.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-first-step-of-many-to-come">First step of many to come</h2>



<p>Scientific progress is gradual. First, research shows how something works; then clinical studies determine whether it helps patients. </p>



<p>This study addressed the first step - showing that adjusting fat intake by changing oils in your diet was associated with slower cancer cell proliferation in tumor tissue. </p>



<p>The next step - demonstrating that it prevents cancer spread or delays treatment - remains to be shown.</p>



<p>In the meantime, improving diet is unlikely to cause harm. Unlike radiation or surgery, adjusting fat intake generally carries fewer side effects. Even if cancer benefits are modest, cardiovascular and cognitive health may also improve.</p>



<p>For men on active surveillance, taking constructive steps can feel better than inaction. The psychological boost of taking control might be just as valuable as any biological benefit. </p>



<p>Diet isn’t magic, and it won’t replace your regular cancer monitoring. According to this research, what you put on your plate may matter more than previously assumed.</p>



<p>The full study was published in the <em><a href="https://ascopubs.org/doi/abs/10.1200/JCO.24.00608" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Journal of Clinical Oncology</a></em>.</p>



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Many common cooking oils are now being linked to certain types of cancer

If you've ever wondered whether changing your cooking oil could...

<p>A series of hide-and-seek tests show that bonobos rely on memory to keep track of several familiar people at once, even when they’re out of sight. The results reveal mental map-making skills once assumed to be uniquely human.</p>



<p>The study, led by Johns Hopkins University’s <a href="https://www.social-cognitive-origins.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Social and Cognitive Origins Group</a>, documents these abilities in a bonobo named Kanzi. The findings speak to how animals manage complex social worlds and where humans and apes overlap.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-myth-of-human-only-minds">The myth of human-only minds</h2>



<p>Study senior author Chris Krupenye is an assistant professor at Johns Hopkins who studies how animals think. </p>



<p>“People think social <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/every-part-of-the-brain-works-together-to-support-intelligence/">intelligence</a> is a thing that makes humans unique," said Krupenye. </p>



<p>"We have to manage so many different relationships, we might have a range of cognitive tools for doing so that will only be found in ultra-social species like humans,”</p>



<p>“But most of us who study apes have a strong intuition that, because the social world is so important for them too, they must, like humans, be keeping track of these critical social partners," he said. </p>



<p>"They must share with us at least the foundations of our rich social intelligence.”</p>



<p>Humans routinely keep mental tabs on others. If a partner leaves the room, their location stays active in the mind. </p>



<p>For bonobos and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/chimpanzees-catch-yawns-from-robots-and-lie-down-to-rest/">chimpanzees</a>, who often move through dense forests where companions flicker in and out of view, such memory would be useful - perhaps essential.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-testing-bonobo-memory-skills">Testing bonobo memory skills</h2>



<p>Kanzi faced a simple setup with demanding implications. Two caregivers he knew well hid behind two of three identical barriers. </p>



<p>An experimenter then showed Kanzi a photo of one caregiver and asked him to point to where that person was. Trials were repeated in varied orders to prevent rote guessing.</p>



<p>“Kanzi very quickly understood the task and performed well,” said lead author Luz Carvajal, a Ph.D. student in Krupenye's lab who studies apes' knowledge of their social relationships.</p>



<p>The team then removed visual cues altogether. Caregivers hid where Kanzi could not see them choose a barrier. From behind the screens they each called out, “Hi Kanzi,” letting him hear who was where. </p>



<p>Only then did the experimenter show a photo of one caregiver and ask Kanzi to indicate their location.</p>



<p>“Here he also performed above chance, and especially well with one of his two caregivers,” Carvajal said. “He does have the capacity to use voice as a marker for identity. This face matches this voice.”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-faces-and-voices-connected">Faces and voices connected</h2>



<p>While the bonobo made mistakes - as humans do in memory tasks - the pattern was clear. Kanzi kept separate, accurate records of multiple individuals at once, and he could connect a face with a voice to a place.</p>



<p>“Across these studies, the results suggest that Kanzi has a memory of these individuals that brings together their vocal and visual identities - who they are and what they sound like, and where they are in space,” Krupenye said.</p>



<p>“If he hears them he might imagine what they look like. If he sees them, he might bring to mind an idea of what they sound like," he said. </p>



<p>"We think this is one <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/built-in-memory-janitor-helps-your-brain-forget-some-things-on-purpose/">integrated memory</a>. He's using the same photo prompt to refer to an individual whether he can see them or not.”</p>



<p>That kind of “bound” memory - linking identity across senses and locations - helps explain how bonobos manage fission-fusion societies, where subgroups split and reunite through the day.</p>



<p>It suggests a shared foundation for the social cognition humans rely on to plan, coordinate, and reconnect.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-bonobo-memory-human-insight">Bonobo memory, human insight </h2>



<p>Field studies have long hinted that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/great-apes-will-suffer-through-frequent-and-extreme-climate-events/">great apes</a> mentally track groupmates and recognize familiar voices and faces even after years apart. </p>



<p>Chimpanzees, for instance, can pick out known humans wearing masks. But controlled tests of tracking multiple individuals at once were missing. Kanzi’s performance fills that gap and pushes the conversation forward.</p>



<p>The results also broaden what “voice recognition” means in apes. Bonobos had not been tested on matching voices to specific individuals hidden from view. </p>



<p>Here, voice alone guided correct choices, at rates above chance, and in some cases with striking accuracy.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-deep-origins-of-social-life">Deep origins of social life</h2>



<p>The team now wants to expand the study with new questions: How many individuals can apes track at once? Does performance hold up over minutes, hours, or days? What happens when the voices are recorded, filtered, or partially masked? </p>



<p>The answers could reveal the limits of these mental maps and the cues apes, including bonobos, rely on.</p>



<p>“These animals are rich and complex,” Krupenye said. “Even if we just want to understand ourselves better, there’s an urgency to this work - and to saving this endangered species.”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-human-and-ape-social-minds">Human and ape social minds</h2>



<p>The findings also blur the line between human and ape <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/having-an-active-social-life-helps-the-brain-make-better-sense-of-the-world/">social minds</a>. </p>



<p>Apes are not planning cities or managing calendars, but they can bind identities across senses, track several individuals at once, and call up that knowledge on demand - much like we do.</p>



<p>For species that must coordinate movement, negotiate alliances, and reunite after separation, those abilities are not luxuries. They are survival tools. </p>



<p>Kanzi’s success suggests the roots of our social lives run deeper than our species - and they’re still visible, if we know how to play the right game of hide-and-seek.</p>



<p>The study is published in the journal <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2025.0640" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>Proceedings of the Royal Society B</em></a>.</p>



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Bonobos have memory skills that were thought to be uniquely human

A series of hide-and-seek tests show that bonobos rely on...

Parallel,Universe,Science,Theory,Illustration

<p>Quantum entanglement is incredibly difficult to understand, even scientists, but a new study shows it follows the same basic playbook no matter how many dimensions you consider. The authors used a tool called thermal effective theory to pin down universal behavior in a precise limit.</p>



<p>This matters because quantum entanglement sits at the heart of quantum <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/evidence-of-negative-time-observed-measured-in-new-quantum-physics-experiments/">computing</a>, secure communication, and error correction, and theorists have chased clean statements about it for decades.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-universal-law-of-quantum-entanglement-nbsp">Universal law of quantum entanglement&nbsp;</h2>



<p>The team proves that a standard measure called <a href="https://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/fsg7-bs7q" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Rényi entropy</a> has a universal form when the replica number n is small, and the boundary of the region you study is spherical. </p>



<p><a href="https://ias.kyushu-u.ac.jp/en/staff/view.php?cId=774&amp;divi=4" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Yuya Kusuki</a> of the Kyushu University Institute for Advanced Study led the work with <a href="https://ooguri.caltech.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Hirosi Ooguri</a> at Caltech and the University of Tokyo’s Kavli <a href="https://www.ipmu.jp/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">IPMU</a>, and <a href="https://www.pma.caltech.edu/people/sridip-pal" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Sridip Pal</a> at Caltech.</p>



<p>“This study is the first example of applying thermal effective theory to quantum <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/particle-that-could-change-quantum-computing-neglectons-ising-anyon-braiding/">information</a>. The results of this study demonstrate the usefulness of this approach, and we hope to further develop this approach to gain a deeper understanding of quantum entanglement structures,” said Kusuki.</p>



<p><a href="https://www.earth.com/news/quantum-entanglement-a-simple-way-to-grasp-this-impossible-concept-carl-kocher/">In plain terms</a>, the small-n behavior depends on a single constant from the effective theory and on the area of the region’s boundary. </p>



<p>That combination holds in any number of spacetime dimensions that admit a <a href="https://www.damtp.cam.ac.uk/user/tong/string/string4.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">conformal field theory</a> description.</p>



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



<p>Most exact results about entanglement come from <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/quantum-material-could-make-computers-1000-times-faster/">systems</a> with one space dimension plus time. Moving to higher dimensions complicates everything because shape, curvature, and boundary effects start to pull their weight.</p>



<p>There is a silver lining. Many quantum systems obey an area law where entanglement <a href="https://journals.aps.org/rmp/abstract/10.1103/RevModPhys.82.277" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">scales</a> with boundary size, not bulk volume, and this feature underwrites efficient simulation strategies in practice. The new paper strengthens the theoretical footing for that kind of scaling in a controlled limit.</p>



<p>By nailing down which parts are universal and which parts are model specific, the authors also map where numerical methods might safely cut corners. That saves time and reduces the chance of chasing artifacts.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-renyi-entropy-s-role">Renyi entropy's role</h2>



<p>Rényi entropy is a family of numbers that summarize how a quantum <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/new-form-of-quantum-entanglement-discovered-will-transform-next-gen-technology/">state</a> spreads its weight across possibilities. The label n is the replica number (the parameter n that labels different orders of Rényi entropy in quantum information theory), and different n emphasize different parts of the distribution.</p>



<p>For entanglement, we compute Rényi entropies for a subregion A to see how strongly it links to everything else. From those values you can extract the <a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/2202.13343" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">entanglement spectrum</a>, which is the set of effective energy levels for the reduced state.</p>



<p>Those levels come from the <a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/2306.14732" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">modular Hamiltonian</a>, the operator whose exponential gives the reduced density matrix once you normalize it. Large eigenvalues of that operator control fine structure in the spectrum and, by extension, the way information is encoded.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-thermal-effective-theory">Thermal effective theory </h2>



<p><a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/2207.00534" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Thermal effective theory</a> treats a complicated quantum field theory as if it were a simpler thermal system, but with a carefully chosen set of parameters that capture the key physics. </p>



<p>In the small-n regime those parameters collapse to a short list, which is why clean formulas appear.</p>



<p>Armed with that framework, the authors estimate how many entanglement levels lie above a given threshold. </p>



<p>That calculation echoes the famous <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0550321386905523" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Cardy formula</a> that counts states in 2D conformal field theory, now repurposed for quantum entanglement features in more than two dimensions.</p>



<p>The approach also separates bulk contributions from boundary terms, and it shows how boundary effects slip in one order lower in n. </p>



<p>That hierarchy helps clarify which pieces are robust and which are sensitive to details like surface curvature.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-2d-systems-differ">How 2D systems differ </h2>



<p>Two-dimensional systems often allow exact answers thanks to symmetry, and the small-n story here connects to a stronger result that holds for all positive n. </p>



<p>In 2D you can use a “hot spot” trick that focuses on regions where the effective temperature soars, and the method delivers full-n formulas.</p>



<p>The new paper explains why that trick stops working the same way in higher dimensions. Curvature and derivatives of the effective temperature do not stay small near the boundary, so higher-order terms refuse to be ignored.</p>



<p>That does not spoil universality in the small-n limit, which remains intact. It simply draws a clean line between what 2D symmetry guarantees and what higher-D physics permits.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-building-a-bridge-to-gravity">Building a bridge to gravity</h2>



<p>Sharper control of Rényi entropies can guide tensor-network and <a href="https://www.ibm.com/think/topics/monte-carlo-simulation" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Monte Carlo</a> methods for <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/quantum-theory-of-motion/manybody-systems/33E7355EFAED8AEA0D9AF2D4D582D883" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">many-body</a> systems, especially when geometry matters. If you know which terms dominate at small-n, you can target algorithms and set error bars with more confidence.</p>



<p>There is also a bridge to gravity. Rényi entropies play an active role in holographic <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms12472" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">calculations</a> that relate quantum field theories to gravity in higher-dimensional spacetimes, where a geometric prescription translates entropies into areas of special surfaces.</p>



<p>The work hints at new classification ideas for phases of matter, since universal data tied to shape and boundary can act like fingerprints. </p>



<p>It may also sharpen the language we use to compare quantum simulators and real materials without getting lost in model-specific weeds.</p>



<p>The study is published in <a href="https://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/fsg7-bs7q" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>Physical Review Letters</em></a>.</p>



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Quantum entanglement follows universal rules across all dimensions

Quantum entanglement is incredibly difficult to understand, even scientists, but...

<p>South America is on a hot streak. In Ecuador’s Zamora-Chinchipe province, new drill results include ultra-high grades at Fruta del Norte South and confirmation that a copper and gold porphyry system sits right next door at Trancaloma, as outlined by Lundin Gold’s May 2025 <a href="https://lundingold.com/site/assets/files/111540/lundin_gold_inc__lundin_gold_reports_strong_exploration_results.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">disclosure</a>.</p>



<p>Guyana is stirring too. Omai Gold’s latest holes at the historic Omai mine cut rich zones at Wenot, while an April 2024 economic <a href="https://omaigoldmines.com/site/assets/files/5864/2024-04-04_omg_nr_wenot_pea_final-1.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">study</a> lays out a long-life open pit plan for that deposit.</p>



<p><a href="https://lundingold.com/about/management/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Andre Oliveira</a>, Vice President of Exploration at Lundin Gold, is identified as the Qualified Person who reviewed the technical content supporting these Ecuador updates, per the company’s public filing.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-reading-gold-deposit-numbers">Reading gold deposit numbers</h2>



<p>Grades like these can be confusing if you do not spend your day reading core logs. </p>



<p>The industry often reports grams per ton of gold, which simply measures how much gold sits in a ton of rock, so when a number spikes into the triple digits, it signals a very rich slice of the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/volcanic-white-gold-a-lithium-deposit-valued-at-1-5-trillion-has-been-discovered-in-the-u-s/">deposit</a>.</p>



<p>The porphyry label matters because these deposits supply a large share of the world’s copper and can also carry gold. </p>



<p>That combination of scale and metal mix is the reason explorers celebrate long runs of consistent mineralization.</p>



<p>You will also see the term <a href="https://pubs.usgs.gov/publication/sir20105070Q" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">epithermal</a> in this news. Epithermal systems form closer to the surface and can deliver pockets of very high grade, which is a common pairing near porphyry centers in many districts described by USGS models.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-record-year-of-drilling-in-ecuador">Record year of drilling in Ecuador</h2>



<p>At Fruta del Norte East, one hole reported 7.12 grams per ton <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mineral-exploration-project-discovers-20-metric-tons-of-gold-deposits-odisha-india/">gold</a> across about 46.9 feet.</p>



<p>Also, deeper in the hole, 4.62 grams per ton over about 76.0 feet, which points to a broad mineralized corridor a short distance from the existing mine. That is not a single narrow vein, it is a stacked system with multiple zones.</p>



<p>“We will accelerate the delineation of these new exploration opportunities,” said <a href="https://lundingold.com/about/management/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ron Hochstein</a>, President and CEO of Lundin Gold, after releasing the new results. </p>



<p>The company’s next decisions, from drilling priorities to engineering studies, flow from data like this.</p>



<p>Fruta del Norte is not new to geologists. Its discovery and geologic character have been <a href="https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/segweb/economicgeology/article/111/5/1043/172161/Discovery-Geology-and-Origin-of-the-Fruta-del" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">documented</a> in the scientific literature, including an overview in <em>Economic Geology</em> that set the deposit in its regional context. The district-scale picture is getting sharper as new targets are tested.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-porphyry-confirmation-at-trancaloma">Porphyry confirmation at Trancaloma</h2>



<p>Trancaloma sits immediately adjacent to the mine area and now carries confirmation of a copper and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/new-high-grade-gold-mine-found-in-an-unexplored-area-of-south-america/">gold</a> porphyry at surface. </p>



<p>Company updates since May describe a several mile-long corridor with multiple porphyry targets aligned beside the epithermal system that hosts Fruta del Norte.</p>



<p>That geometry matters. A porphyry at surface can support very long intercepts and, if the rock behaves economically, large tonnages that benefit from scale.</p>



<p>Geologists often find epithermal veins and porphyry centers living in the same neighborhoods. Seeing both in one compact area is the kind of pattern that encourages sustained exploration programs and patient follow up.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-guyana-s-gold-deposit-past">Guyana’s gold deposit past</h2>



<p>The Omai mine in Guyana produced more than 3.7 million ounces of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/copper-and-gold-deposit-found-near-canadas-golden-triangle-just-59-feet-below-the-surface/">gold</a> between 1993 and 2005, and the company’s 2024 study outlines a plan for 1.84 million ounces over 13 years from the Wenot open pit if developed. That history, plus a defined plan, keeps attention on each new drill result.</p>



<p>In May, Omai reported a highlight interval grading 28.04 grams per tonne over roughly 30.5 feet, with a one yard section running 252.36 grams per tonne, at the Wenot <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/volcanic-white-gold-a-lithium-deposit-valued-at-1-5-trillion-has-been-discovered-in-the-u-s/">deposit</a>. </p>



<p>The team also cut additional multi-interval hits along the 1.55 mile strike length of Wenot, which helps push resource potential outward.</p>



<p>“Today’s results exemplify the continued resource expansion potential of our Wenot shear-hosted orogenic deposit,” said <a href="https://www.alamosgold.com/about/board-of-directors/person-details/default.aspx?ItemId=e901e0cf-ca47-42d6-8651-53aca29a96b2" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Elaine Ellingham</a>, President and CEO of Omai Gold Mines. </p>



<p>Management has flagged near term updates to the resource model and future economic analysis that could incorporate new zones.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-methods-quality-and-caution">Methods, quality and caution</h2>



<p>When results move fast, it is worth asking how the numbers were produced. </p>



<p>Lundin Gold’s release outlines assay preparation and analysis at accredited labs and a quality control program that includes standards, blanks, and duplicates, with oversight by a named Qualified Person as required by Canadian disclosure rules.</p>



<p>Investors should also remember that early intercepts may be reported as downhole lengths, not true thickness. </p>



<p>Regulators expect companies to name the Qualified Person who approves technical disclosure and to follow <a href="https://www.osc.ca/en/securities-law/instruments-rules-policies/4/43-101/national-instrument-ni-43-101-standards-disclosure-mineral-projects-0" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NI 43-101 standards</a>, which are designed to keep reports consistent and clear.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-to-watch-next">What to watch next</h2>



<p>Lundin Gold has stated that studies are underway to assess how Fruta del Norte South could fit into the 2026 long term mine plan if results keep lining up. </p>



<p>The company’s first quarter 2025 update points readers back to the detailed drill tables and maps that guide those decisions.</p>



<p>In Guyana, Omai’s Wenot focus remains on extending mineralization at depth and along strike, while using fresh data to refresh both the resource and the project’s economics. </p>



<p>As the work advances, step changes could come from adding nearby targets into a single mine plan.</p>



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High-grade gold discovered in northern South America

South America is on a hot streak. In Ecuador’s Zamora-Chinchipe...

<p>Your genome carries quiet traces of meetings your ancestors once had with other kinds of humans. Some of those traces come from the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/neanderthals-and-humans-had-multiple-waves-of-contact/">Denisovans</a>, a population that science met first in DNA, then slowly in bone.</p>



<p>A new wave of research is turning these strangers into neighbors by stitching together where they lived, when they thrived, and what they left behind in people today. </p>



<p>The work draws on cave sediments, ancient proteins, and high resolution timelines to replace mystery with detail.</p>



<p>Zenobia Jacobs, <a href="https://scholars.uow.edu.au/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Wollongong</a>, and an international team are among the scientists leading this effort. Their latest results map a full history of Denisova Cave across hundreds of thousands of years.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-dna-in-the-denisovan-cave">DNA in the Denisovan cave</h2>



<p>In 2010, researchers extracted mitochondrial DNA from <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/homo-juluensis-new-human-species-vanished-just-fifty-thousand-years-ago/">a tiny finger bone</a> in Denisova Cave and realized it did not match modern humans or Neanderthals, introducing a previously unknown hominin lineage.</p>



<p>That first genome built the case for a population that had been invisible to the fossil record.</p>



<p>Follow up nuclear DNA <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nature09710" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">work</a> showed Denisovans and Neanderthals were sister groups and, crucially, that ancestors of people from Melanesia carry Denisovan ancestry. </p>



<p>Those findings suggested that it contributed 4-6% of its genetic material to the genomes of present-day Melanesians.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-high-places-thin-air">High places, thin air</h2>



<p>Clues soon appeared far from Siberia. In 2019, proteins extracted from the Xiahe mandible found in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mysterious-denisovan-species-humans-lived-undisturbed-tibetan-plateau-160000-years/">Baishiya Karst Cave</a> on the Tibetan Plateau tied that jaw to Denisovans, placing them at high altitude roughly 160,000 years ago.</p>



<p>The fossil filled a geographic and ecological gap. Genetics in living people already hinted at this story. </p>



<p>A 2014 <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nature13408" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">study</a> showed that a Tibetan haplotype for low oxygen adaptation can only be convincingly explained by introgression of DNA from Denisovan or Denisovan related individuals into humans. </p>



<p>That is one practical way the Denisovans still matter in human health today.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-family-with-many-branches">Family with many branches</h2>



<p>The Denisovan trail is uneven. Some fossils are sparse, and some identifications remain debated. </p>



<p>In 2021, a large skull from Harbin, China, was <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34557770/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">described</a> as species <em>Homo longi</em>, a proposed species whose traits differ from both Neanderthals and modern humans. The specimen’s story is still unfolding.</p>



<p>Fresh analyses are testing whether such East Asian fossils could represent Denisovan populations scattered beyond Siberia. That debate is sharpening how researchers read teeth and skulls against genomes and proteins.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-sediment-stories-in-denisova-cave">Sediment stories in Denisova Cave</h2>



<p>The newest advance is not a spectacular skull but the steady accumulation of DNA. and precise optical dating. </p>



<p>Jacobs and colleagues combined 150 new ages with genetic data from all three chambers of Denisova Cave and analyzed 963 <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/recreating-the-face-of-dragon-man-harbin-skull-denisovans-an-ancient-human-cousin/">sediment samples</a> to reconstruct a whole cave timeline across the last 300,000 years, substantially enlarging the record of Denisovan presence after 80,000 years ago. </p>



<p>Their integrated chronology links shifts in hominin DNA with environmental and faunal changes through time.</p>



<p>The same cave yielded a one of a kind individual: Denisova 11, the daughter of a Neanderthal mother and a Denisovan father. That single life shows contact was not just theoretical, it was personal.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-60140-6/figures/3" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/denisova-cave_denisovans-human-ancestors_excavation_NatureCommunication_1s.webp" alt="Microstratigraphy (micromorphology) of sediment blocks from South Chamber. Credit: Nature Communications" class="wp-image-1982836"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption"><em>Microstratigraphy (micromorphology) of sediment blocks from South Chamber. Click image to enlarge. Credit: Nature Communications</em></figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-fossils-off-the-beaten-path">Fossils off the beaten path</h2>



<p>Evidence for Denisovans did not all come from caves. A robust <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/jawbone-discovery-taiwan-adds-to-the-mystery-of-our-denisovan-ancestors/">lower jaw</a> dredged near Taiwan, published in 2015, shows archaic features that some researchers compare with Denisovan-like teeth, expanding the possible range of late hominin diversity in East Asia.</p>



<p>A lone tooth from northern Laos, <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35581187/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">described</a> in 2022, resembles Denisovan molars and places a Denisovan like signal in Southeast Asia’s tropics. These finds add breadth to an otherwise DNA heavy picture.</p>



<p>A complementary technique lifted the approach beyond bones. </p>



<p>A 2021 study showed how dense grids of sediment sampling can reveal occupation pulses by Denisovans, Neanderthals, and later modern humans, even when no skeletal remains survive. This method is now central to turning scattered traces into lifelike timelines.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-genetic-echoes-in-living-people">Genetic echoes in living people</h2>



<p>Denisovan DNA is not a museum piece, it is a living inheritance. A 2021 <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33753512/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">study</a> reported that the Ayta Magbukon people in the Philippines “possess the highest level of Denisovan ancestry in the world.” </p>



<p>Denisovan ancestry is also widespread in parts of Island Southeast Asia and New Guinea.</p>



<p>Multiple episodes of Denisovan gene flow into different human groups now look likely. </p>



<p>Analyses of modern genomes point to more than one Denisovan population contributing DNA across Asia, which matches the geographic scatter hinted at by fossils and cave sediments. </p>



<p>Those echoes help researchers follow population movements and contacts that left only thin archaeological footprints.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-the-denisova-cave-matters">Why the Denisova cave matters</h2>



<p>Denisovans force us to rethink labels. They were close kin to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/28000-year-old-hybrid-child-confirms-interbreeding-between-humans-and-neanderthals/">Neanderthals</a> yet adapted to high altitudes, present in cold Siberia and warm Southeast Asia, and contributors of useful traits to our species. </p>



<p>Those facts point to a flexible, resilient people who met and sometimes mixed with others in a changing Pleistocene world.</p>



<p>They also show how methods change what we can know. </p>



<p>DNA captured from soil, proteins preserved in mineral crusts, and calendar year chronologies let researchers track hominin populations through layers and climate swings, not just dates on a chart. </p>



<p>That is how a “ghost population” becomes part of a human story that is still being written.</p>



<p>The study is published in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-60140-6" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>Nature Communications</em></a>.</p>



<p>-----</p>



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<p>-----</p>

What appeared to be a simple cave concealed the history of a forgotten human lineage

Your genome carries quiet traces of meetings your ancestors once...

Bandung,,Indonesia,:,People,Collect,Trash,That,Can,Be,Recycled

<p>Efforts to hammer out a global treaty to tackle plastic pollution have once again hit a wall. After years of work and six formal negotiation rounds, talks wrapped up in Geneva without an agreement. </p>



<p>Delegates from 185 countries worked past the deadline and into the early hours, but the gap between two opposing sides proved too wide to bridge.</p>



<p>This round of negotiations - billed as a last-chance summit after a similar breakdown in South Korea last year - was seen as a potential turning point. Instead, frustration ruled.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-s-holding-back-a-plastic-treaty">What's holding back a plastic treaty?</h2>



<p>The main split was clear. One group, known as the <a href="https://hacfornatureandpeople.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">High Ambition Coalition</a>, includes countries like Canada, the UK, and members of the EU. </p>



<p>They’re pushing for limits on <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/plastics-treaty-talks-slow-progress-yet-restored-hope/">plastic</a> production and a gradual phase-out of harmful chemicals used in plastics.</p>



<p>On the other side, oil-producing nations grouped under the "Like-Minded Group" - including Saudi Arabia, Iran, Russia, Kuwait, and Malaysia - want a treaty focused only on <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/international-day-of-zero-waste-a-global-commitment-to-a-sustainable-future/">waste management</a>, not production cuts. </p>



<p>These countries argue that targeting production would penalize resource-rich developing nations.</p>



<p>"Our views were not reflected without an agreed scope, this process cannot remain on the right track and risks sliding down a slippery slope," said Kuwait.</p>



<p>Bahrain added that it supported a treaty that "does not penalize developing countries for exploiting their own resources."</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tensions-boil-over">Tensions boil over</h2>



<p>The emotional toll was visible. France's Ecological Transition Minister, Agnes Pannier-Runacher, didn’t mince words. "I am disappointed, and I am angry," she said. </p>



<p>"A handful of countries, guided by short-term financial interests, had blocked the adoption of an ambitious treaty. Oil-producing countries and their allies have chosen to look the other way."</p>



<p>Tuvalu, speaking on behalf of 14 Pacific island nations, voiced deep frustration.</p>



<p>"For our islands this means that without global cooperation and state action, millions of tons of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-think-their-biotech-breakthrough-could-end-plastic-waste-forever/">plastic waste</a> will continue to be dumped in our oceans, affecting our ecosystem, food security, livelihood and culture."</p>



<p>Colombia was equally direct, nothing that the negotiations were consistently blocked by a small number of states who simply don't want an agreement.</p>



<p>"We have missed a historic opportunity but we have to keep going and act urgently. The planet and present and future generations need this treaty," said Cuba. </p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-plastic-treaty-process-in-chaos">Plastic treaty process in chaos</h2>



<p>Midweek, as talks looked increasingly fragile, the chair of the negotiations, Luis Vayas Valdivieso, issued a draft treaty based on overlapping areas. It was rejected across the board.</p>



<p>The High Ambition Coalition said it was too weak. The Like-Minded Group said it was too broad.</p>



<p>Valdivieso scrambled to salvage the talks with closed-door meetings and a revised draft. But shortly before sunrise, it was clear: no deal.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-plastic-problem-by-the-numbers">The plastic problem, by the numbers</h2>



<p>Over 400 million tons of plastic are produced globally each year. Half of that is used once and tossed.</p>



<p>Only 15% of plastic waste is even collected for <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/global-recycling-day-creating-a-healthier-planet-for-all/">recycling</a>. Of that, only 9% ends up actually recycled.</p>



<p>Nearly half goes straight to landfills. Another 17% is incinerated. The remaining 22% ends up polluting landscapes, oceans, and waterways.</p>



<p><a href="https://www.earth.com/news/microplastics-pose-a-greater-threat-to-some-ocean-animals/">Microplastics</a> have now been found on Mount Everest and in the Mariana Trench. They’re in our lungs, our blood, and our food.</p>



<p>And the problem is accelerating. </p>



<p>According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (<a href="https://www.oecd.org/en.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">OECD</a>), plastic production could nearly triple by 2060, reaching 1.2 billion tons a year. </p>



<p>Plastic waste is expected to top one billion tons annually.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-happens-next-for-plastic-talks">What happens next for plastic talks?</h2>



<p>No one is quite sure what happens next. Some countries called for a seventh round of talks. South Africa insisted that it cannot end here. The EU called the latest draft a "good basis for a resumed session."</p>



<p>Whether or not countries return to the table will depend on political pressure, shifting alliances, and the mounting cost of inaction. </p>



<p>Scientists and environmental groups are urging negotiators not to let the momentum slip away.</p>



<p>In the meantime, national governments may move forward with their own <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/food-packaging-is-leaking-harmful-chemicals-into-meals/">plastic</a> restrictions, bans, or recycling mandates. </p>



<p>But without a global plan, the patchwork approach will struggle to keep up with a problem that knows no borders.</p>



<p>Consumers, too, are becoming more vocal. The failure to reach a deal may only fuel public demand for action, transparency, and accountability from industries driving plastic production.</p>



<p>The urgency remains. Plastic pollution isn't slowing down - and neither should the effort to stop it.</p>



<p>-----</p>



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Global plastic treaty negotiations end in failure with no solution in sight

Efforts to hammer out a global treaty to tackle plastic...

<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>



<p>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.</p>



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



<p>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.</p>



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



<p>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.</p>



<p>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.</p>



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



<p>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.</p>



<p>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.</p>



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



<p>—–</p>



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<p>—–</p>

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>



<p>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.</p>



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



<p>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.</p>



<p>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.</p>



<p>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.</p>



<p>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.</p>



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



<p>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.</p>



<p>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.</p>



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



<p>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.</p>



<p>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.</p>



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



<p>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.</p>



<p>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.</p>



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



<p>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.</p>



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



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



<p>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.</p>



<p>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%.</p>



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



<p>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.</p>



<p>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.</p>



<p>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.</p>



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



<p>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>.</p>



<p id="block-9bd989d6-2fd3-4580-957f-6cacce134f08">-----</p>



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<p id="block-43e218f4-0391-477c-8396-eb777c8c80a3">Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by <a href="https://www.earth.com/author/eralls/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Eric Ralls</a> and Earth.com.</p>



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



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

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>



<p>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.</p>



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



<p>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.</p>



<p>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.</p>



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



<p>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.</p>



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



<p>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.</p>



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



<p>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.</p>



<p>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"><em>Nature Communications</em></a>.</p>



<p>-----</p>



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<p>-----</p>

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>



<p>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.</p>



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



<p>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.</p>



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



<p>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.</p>



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



<p>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.</p>



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



<p>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.</p>



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



<p>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.</p>



<p>-----</p>



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<p>-----</p>



<p></p>

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>



<p>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>.</p>



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



<p>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.</p>



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



<p>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.</p>



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



<p>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.</p>



<p>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.</p>



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



<p>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.</p>



<p>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.</p>



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



<p>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.</p>



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



<p>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>.<br>This research offers renewed hope against cancer, and it can potentially open a door to more effective cancer therapies for most cancer patients worldwide.</p>



<p>-----</p>



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<p>-----</p>

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>



<p>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.</p>



<p>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.</p>



<p>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.</p>



<p>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.</p>



<p>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.</p>



<p>-----</p>



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<p>-----</p>

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>



<p>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.</p>



<p>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.</p>



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



<p>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.</p>



<p>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.</p>



<p>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.</p>



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



<p>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."</p>



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



<p>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.</p>



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



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



<p>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.</p>



<p>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.</p>



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



<p>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.</p>



<p>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.</p>



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



<p>The forest was remarkably diverse. Scientists identified <em>Eospermatopteris</em>, 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.</p>



<p>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.</p>



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



<p>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.</p>



<p>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."</p>



<p>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.</p>



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



<p>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.</p>



<p>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.</p>



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



<p>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.</p>



<p>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.</p>



<p>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.</p>



<p>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.</p>



<p>The full study was published in the journal <em>Current Biology</em>.</p>



<p>-----</p>



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<p>-----</p>

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>



<p>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.</p>



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



<p>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.</p>



<p>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."</p>



<p>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.</p>



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



<p>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.</p>



<p>"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.</p>



<p>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.</p>



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



<p>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.</p>



<p>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.</p>



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



<p>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.</p>



<p>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>.</p>



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



<p>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.</p>



<p>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.</p>



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



<p>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.</p>



<p>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.</p>



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



<p>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.</p>



<p>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.</p>



<p>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.</p>



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



<p>-----</p>



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<p>-----</p>

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>



<p>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.</p>



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



<p>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 <em>Neuron</em></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.</p>



<p>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.</p>



<p>"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.</p>



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



<p>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.</p>



<p>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.</p>



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



<p>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.</p>



<p>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.</p>



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



<p>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.</p>



<p>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.</p>



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



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



<p>Dr. Konstantina Kilteni's 2025 research, published in <em><a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adt0350" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Science Advances</a></em>, 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.</p>



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



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



<p>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.</p>



<p>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.</p>



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



<p>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.</p>



<p>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.</p>



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



<p>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.</p>



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



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



<p>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.</p>



<p>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.</p>



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



<p>-----</p>



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<p>-----</p>

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>



<p>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.</p>



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



<p>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.</p>



<p>That solace came through H.G. Wells' <em>The Time Machine</em>. 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.</p>



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



<p>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.</p>



<p>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.</p>



<p>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.</p>



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



<p>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."</p>



<p>"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.</p>



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



<p>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."</p>



<p>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.</p>



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



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



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



<p>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 <em>This American Life</em></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 <em>Today Show</em></a>. The widespread interest reflects both his compelling personal story and rigorous scientific approach.</p>



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



<p>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.</p>



<p>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.</p>



<p>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.</p>



<p>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.</p>



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



<p>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."</p>



<p>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.</p>



<p>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.</p>



<p></p>



<p>-----</p>



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<p>-----</p>

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>



<p>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?</p>



<p>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.</p>



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



<p>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.</p>



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



<p>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.</p>



<p>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.</p>



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



<p>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.</p>



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



<p>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.</p>



<p>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.</p>



<p>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.</p>



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



<p>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.</p>



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



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



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



<p>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.</p>



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



<p>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.</p>



<p>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.</p>



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



<p>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.</p>



<p>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.</p>



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



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



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



<p>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.</p>



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



<p>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.</p>



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



<p>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.</p>



<p>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.</p>



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



<p>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.</p>



<p>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.</p>



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



<p>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.</p>



<p>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.</p>



<p>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.</p>



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



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



<p><strong>Sources:</strong> <em>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.</em></p>



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



<p><strong>1. Is acid rain completely gone?</strong> 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.</p>



<p><strong>2. How long did solving take?</strong> 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.</p>



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



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



<p><strong>5. Could acid rain return?</strong> 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.</p>



<p><strong>6. Can you recommend any teaching tools on the subject of "acid rain"?</strong> 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></p>



<p>-----</p>



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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...

<p>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. </p>



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



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



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



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



<p>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. </p>



<p>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).</p>



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



<p>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.</p>



<p>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.</p>



<p>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>.</p>

Is chocolate the next nutritional powerhouse?

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

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<p>Today’s <strong>Video of the Day</strong> 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.</p>



<p>"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.</p>



<p>"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."</p>



<p><em>Video/ Image Credit: ESA</em></p>



<p><em>-</em><em>--</em></p>



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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

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<p>Today's <strong>Video of the Day</strong> 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.</p>



<p>"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.</p>



<p>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.</p>



<p><em>Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;</em></p>



<p><em>-</em><em>--</em></p>



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



<p>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.</p>

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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<p>Today’s <strong>Video of the Day</strong> 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;</p>



<p>"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.</p>



<p>"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."</p>



<p>"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."</p>



<p><em>Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;</em></p>



<p><em>-</em><em>--</em></p>



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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<p>Today's <strong>Video of the Day</strong> 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;</p>



<p>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;</p>



<p>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.</p>



<p><em>Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;</em></p>



<p><em>-</em><em>--</em></p>



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



<p>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.</p>

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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



<p>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;</p>



<p>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;</p>



<p>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. </p>



<p>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.</p>



<p>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. </p>



<p><em>Video/ Image Credit: European Space Agency&nbsp;</em></p>



<p><em>-</em><em>--</em></p>



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



<p>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.</p>

Kainji Lake in north central Nigeria

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<p>Today’s <strong>Video of the Day</strong> from <a href="https://www.igb.illinois.edu/">Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology</a> reveals how scientists can modify common crops like soybean, rice, and wheat to protect them from heat stress.</p>



<p>“We need to double crop production by 2050 to feed a growing global population, and not only are we not on track to do that, but climate change is further complicating things,” said Amanda Cavanagh, a lecturer at the University of Essex. </p>



<p>The study is part of Realizing Increased Photosynthetic Efficiency (RIPE), an international research project that aims to develop food crops that turn the sun’s energy into food more efficiently.</p>



<p>“Using an engineering approach we designed multiple alternative metabolic pathways to photorespiration. Testing them in the field showed increases in productivity which led Amanda to significantly move the project forward by showing our engineered plants can withstand pretty extreme temperature stress,” said study co-author and RIPE researcher Paul South.&nbsp;</p>



<p>“As the climate changes and temperature stresses increase the pressure on our global food supply, farmers will need every tool available including engineering approaches like the synthetic biology used here to maintain safe and productive harvests.”</p>



<p>The experts tested plants modified to have more efficient photorespiration to see if they were better adapted to warmer temperatures.&nbsp;</p>



<p>The team found that the engineered plants produced 26 percent more biomass than the wild-type plants exposed to the same temperatures, and had 15 percent less yield loss under the higher temperatures.</p>



<p><em>Video Credit: Amanda Nguyen/University of Illinois</em></p>



<p><em>-</em><em>--</em></p>



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



<p>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.</p>

Designing crops that can beat the heat

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



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



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



<p><em>Video Credit: ACS Reactions</em></p>



<p><em>-</em><em>--</em></p>



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



<p>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.</p>

How does salt makes things taste better?

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



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



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



<p><em>Video/ Image Credit: ESA</em></p>



<p><em>-</em><em>--</em></p>



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



<p>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.</p>

Santiago, Chile in South America

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