🦦 Beavers are super parents: carry their babies in their paws like humans!

Did you know that beavers carry their cubs as if in a hug? 🥰 Beaver cubs are born with open eyes and thick fur, ready to swim. But even these independent babies need care!

👉 Check out this cutest video of a mom beaver showing touching care. And these “nature engineers” are also saving ecosystems by creating dams and restoring forests
#facts #animals #mammals

📱 The Tiger Ambystoma is a unique amphibian: its larvae (axolotl) can reproduce without becoming an adult form (neotenia)!

🟠 Adult amphibian size: Up to 38 cm, with brightly colored spots or stripes. Albinos (white with red gills) are popular in aquariums!
🟠 Survival secret: Larvae mature quickly in warm water bodies, in cold ones they remain eternal “children”.
🟠 Threatened: Populations are declining, the species is protected in the US.

👀 Interesting
Axolotls feed on infusoria and their eggs take up to 50 days to develop. Nature is an adaptation genius!
#facts #animals #amphibians

🤧 NITROGEN FERTILIZERS: AN INVISIBLE THREAT FOR ALLERGY SUFFERERS?
Belgian scientists have proven for the first time that nitrogen fertilizers not only “feed” plants, but also... increase allergies in people!
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❗️ The study found:
🟠 Fertilized meadows produce 6.2 times more pollen (3.6 mg/m² vs. 0.6 mg/m²).
🟠 The allergenicity of such pollen is 5 times higher! The immune cells (basophils) react more aggressively to it.

Why does this happen?
✅ Nitrogen stimulates plant growth and increases the proportion of pollen-bearing grasses (e.g. foxtail).
✅ High nitrogen concentration changes the biochemistry of pollen, making it “more aggressive” to the immune system.

📌 What does this mean for us?
🟠 Increase in allergies: rhinitis, asthma, conjunctivitis may become more frequent.
🟠 Ecology and agriculture: fertilizers save crops but harm health and biodiversity.

🚀 What to do?
Scientists are calling for a rethink of farming: seeking a balance between productivity and ecology.
To each of us - stay tuned and support initiatives to reduce chemicals.

⚡️ Interesting fact:
Nitrogen emissions from fuels used to be considered the main “enemy,” but fertilizers have proven to be more dangerous!

❕ Conclusion
Nature reminds us: even well-intentioned goals (to increase yields) can have unintended consequences. Let's be more attentive to the planet - for the sake of ourselves and future generations!
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Article published in The Lancet Planetary (April 2025).
#news #environment #plants

🌌 Life on a sub-neptune? “James Webb” shocks science again!
The telescope has detected dimethyl sulfide and dimethyl disulfide in the atmosphere of planet K2-18b.
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On Earth, these compounds are produced by algae! But how did they survive on a planet where the temperature is probably above the boiling point of water? 🪐

🔍 Key facts:
Where is it located. 124 light-years from Earth.

Planet characteristics:
2.6 times the size of Earth, 8.6 times the mass.
Atmosphere thousands of times denser than ours (6.2% of the planet's mass!).
Hypothetical ocean under the hydrogen shell is a “hykean”.
Concentration of “biomarkers”: 10,000 times higher than Earth's seas!

❓ Why is this controversial?
Greenhouse effect: K2-18b's atmosphere can heat the planet to extreme temperatures.

Abiogenic processes: Scientists don't rule out compounds forming without the involvement of life.

Oxygen issue: A hydrogen atmosphere prevents the buildup of oxygen, which breaks down dimethyl sulfide on Earth.

🌟 What do scientists say?
“The ocean teeming with life scenario best explains the findings,” Nikku Madhusudhan, an astronomer at Cambridge.
But so far it's not proof - just the “most reliable indications” in the history of the search!

❗️ Why it matters.
If life exists under these conditions, it will overturn our ideas about its capabilities.

K2-18b is a unique laboratory example for studying exoplanets.

✔️ The big question:
Life or unknown chemistry? Only new research will answer!
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The paper was published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters. DOI: 10.3847/2041-8213/adc1c8.
#news #biocosmos

🦋 A new species of butterfly has been discovered! Unique discovery in the mountains of Canada
Scientists from the University of Alberta (Canada) have discovered a species of butterfly unknown to science - Satyrium curiosolus! These insects have lived in complete isolation in the mountains of Waterton Lakes National Park for tens of thousands of years, and only now genetics has revealed their secret!
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🔍 What makes them special?
🔽 40,000 years of isolation: The population separated from relatives during the Ice Age and has evolved on its own ever since!
🔽 Exclusive diet: Only eat silver lupine (unlike relatives S. semiluna, which eat silky lupine).
🔽 Symbiosis with ants: The caterpillars are “friends” with Lasius ponderosa ants - they protect them from enemies in exchange for sweet “nectar”!

⚠️ Why are they under threat?
⚫️ Small population: Only about 500 individuals.
⚫️ Inbreeding: Low genetic diversity due to isolation.
⚫️ Fragile ecosystem: Dependence on lupine and ants makes the species vulnerable to climate change.

⚡️ Why it matters.
The discovery of S. curiosolus is a reminder that even well-studied regions hide “invisible” species! Genetic analysis has become key, which means:
🟡 Science can find and save rare species before they become extinct!
🟡 New strategies are needed to protect unique ecosystems like Canada's mountain prairies.

✅ Interesting fact:
Butterfly “relatives” (S. semiluna) cooperate with other ants, Formica and Camponotus. Evolution is a real artist!

💬 Did you know that 15-20 thousand new species are still being discovered on Earth every year?
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The study is published in the journal ZooKeys. DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1234.143893.
#news #animals #insects